NewsWatcher 2.0b1
John Norstad
ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/
NewsWatcher is a free USENET newsreader for the Macintosh.
This is a major new release. New features include:
New message window design
Enhancements to saving files
Fetching referenced files via anonymous FTP
Extracting attached binary files
Full drag and drop support
Canceling articles
Simple Latin-1 character set support
Authentication
Improved memory management and error handling
Additional keyboard shortcuts
Improved printing
Many human interface improvements
Many news handling improvements
All of the new features and changes are described in detail in the new
2.0b1 user document.
When you FTP the new version, also go to the "helpers" subdirectory and
get a copy of Aaron Gile's new "uuUndo" program. NewsWatcher uses this
program to help decode attached binaries. If you don't already have them,
also get copies of the latest versions of Fetch, Anarchie, and StuffIt
Expander from the helpers directory. NewsWatcher also uses these programs
as helpers.
NewsWatcher requires a Macintosh running System 7.0 or later with 2.5
megabytes or more of memory and a hard drive. The Mac must be connected to
the Internet, and MacTCP must be properly installed and configured.
--
John "better late than never" Norstad
Academic Computing and Network Services
Northwestern University
j-no...@nwu.edu
Richard Shapiro
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that it might be nice if NewsWatcher allowed
a user easily to specifiy that s/he wanted to see the last N articles for
a given group, even if that group that was already marked as read. Gnus,
for instance, has a feature like this. It's very handy if I read through
all the postings in some group and then decide afterwards that I want to
go back and look at an article again. The only way I could see to do this
in the last version of NewsWatcher was to (a) unmark the group (b) change
the max # of articles preference (c) get the article and then (d) set the
max # of articles pref back again and finally (e) remark the group. This
is a bit kludgy.
I thought this feature was going to be provided by 2.0b1 but I don't see
any way to do it. Am I missing something obvious?
On the other hand, the new Reply (which I'm using right now) is very nice...
--
rs/macr...@bbn.com or rsha...@bbn.com
John Norstad
(Richard Shapiro) wrote:
> I thought this feature was going to be provided by 2.0b1 but I don't see
> any way to do it. Am I missing something obvious?
Hold down the Option key while opening a group and type in the most recent
number of articles you want to get.
--
John Norstad
Richard Shapiro
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> Hold down the Option key while opening a group and type in the most recent
> number of articles you want to get.
That's *almost* what I'm after :) If only it didn't refuse to show me
articles that it considers already read.
To go back to an article I've seen before, I seem to have one of two
choices: either I can unmark the group, use this nifty new Option feature
(which I like, don't get me wrong), and then mark the group again. Or I
can scroll through 2000 groups in the full group list, find the group I'm
after, and use the Option feature. Neither of these seems quite right. If
I say I want to see the last N articles, that should mean, the last N
articles, whether I've read them or not. Again, if I've missed something
obvious, let me know.
I don't mean to be making a fuss over a detail -- NewsWatcher is an
excellent program which gets better with every release, and I've been
pushing it on all my friends. It's just this one little feature that I
miss...
--
rs/macr...@bbn.com or rsha...@bbn.com
Aaron Giles
> That's *almost* what I'm after :) If only it didn't refuse to show me
> articles that it considers already read.
Don't worry, I've been bugging John about this one for a couple weeks
now. It's at the very bottom of his to do list (don't know if he included
that list in the beta release), but it's there for him to consider. As a
fellow ex-gnus man, I truly understand your desire for this feature!
Aaron
--
Aaron Giles (gi...@med.cornell.edu)
Power Macintosh Developer, Cornell University Medical College
JPEGView home page: http://www.med.cornell.edu/jpegview.html
JPEGView FTP site: ftp://ftp.med.cornell.edu/pub/jpegview/
Robert Lentz
Richard Shapiro <macr...@bbn.com> wrote:
>...
>To go back to an article I've seen before, I seem to have one of two
>choices: either I can unmark the group, use this nifty new Option feature
>(which I like, don't get me wrong), and then mark the group again. Or I
>can scroll through 2000 groups in the full group list, find the group I'm
>after, and use the Option feature.
Or in this latter case you can use the "Search" command under the "Special"
menu if you know what you are looking for (though I imagine there are some
circumstances and server configurations where that would not be a real option).
-Robert
--
le...@rossi.astro.nwu.edu http://www.astro.nwu.edu/lentz/plan.html
"You have to push as hard as the age that pushes against you."
-Flannery O'Connor
Quinn The Eskimo!
>NewsWatcher 2.0b1 is now available at:
>
> ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/
Congratulations John! In the words of the immortal Steve Jobs... "Real
artists ship!"
And now that you've sent NW beta I have this little Internet Config
application that needs writing (:
--
Quinn "The Eskimo!" <qu...@cs.uwa.edu.au> "Support HAVOC!"
Department of Computer Science, The University of Western Australia
Richard Shapiro
(Robert Lentz) wrote:
> Or in this latter case you can use the "Search" command under the "Special"
> menu if you know what you are looking for (though I imagine there are some
> circumstances and server configurations where that would not be a real
> option).
Actually that reminds me of another feature I'd like to see someday:
search for a group name. I'd like to just type the group name, or some
unique part of the name, and have the Full Group LIst scroll there.
Scrolling manually through a list this size is not all that convenient.
--
rs/macr...@bbn.com or rsha...@bbn.com
John Norstad
> To go back to an article I've seen before, I seem to have one of two
> choices: either I can unmark the group, use this nifty new Option feature
> (which I like, don't get me wrong), and then mark the group again. Or I
> can scroll through 2000 groups in the full group list, find the group I'm
> after, and use the Option feature. Neither of these seems quite right. If
> I say I want to see the last N articles, that should mean, the last N
> articles, whether I've read them or not. Again, if I've missed something
> obvious, let me know.
Option 1: Select group in user group list window. Command-U.
Option-Return. Type number of articles and Return. When done, type
Command-M.
Option 2: Don't scroll. Use keyboard navigation. It's fast, it's easy.
Both options are relatively painless and quick ways to accomplish what you want.
John Norstad
qu...@cs.uwa.edu.au (Quinn "The Eskimo!") wrote:
> And now that you've sent NW beta I have this little Internet Config
> application that needs writing (:
And my boss has 3 years of backed up projects for me to finish by Fall ...
--
John Norstad
John Norstad
> Actually that reminds me of another feature I'd like to see someday:
> search for a group name. I'd like to just type the group name, or some
> unique part of the name, and have the Full Group LIst scroll there.
> Scrolling manually through a list this size is not all that convenient.
Keyboard navigation has always been a feature of NewsWatcher, since the
very earliest versions. Just type the first few characters of each part of
the group name. E.g., "co.sy.ma.co" to quickly jump to comp.sys.mac.comm.
This is mentioned in the 2.0d17 user doc.
Robert Lentz
>search for a group name. I'd like to just type the group name, or some
>unique part of the name, and have the Full Group LIst scroll there.
>Scrolling manually through a list this size is not all that convenient.
Both of your requests have already been considered. If you would check the
2.0b1 document, you will find that enhancing the searching capabilities is
on the "To Do" list for 2.1, and a better way of handling going back to
previously read articles is on the "Wish List".
For now, you can open your NewsWatcher Prefs file in a text editor and
search on the group list from there. (But be careful not to save it just in
case your text editor blows away the resource fork.)
Of course making noise helps tell John which features are important to
people, but please read the documentation first. We do not want to exhaust
John's helpfulness. Thank you.
Breier W. Scheetz
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> Keyboard navigation has always been a feature of NewsWatcher, since the
> very earliest versions. Just type the first few characters of each part of
> the group name. E.g., "co.sy.ma.co" to quickly jump to comp.sys.mac.comm.
I've known that's possible, but what if I want to find newsgroups on a
particular subject, and I don't know what their hiarchy is? I'd like to
see a feature in which I type a word, and Newswatcher searches the full
group list for occurances of that word. For example: I type "mac" and I
get comp.sys.mac.games, comp.sys.mac.misc, etc.
--
"Nothing except a battle lost is Breier Scheetz
half as melancholy as a battle won" bre...@halcyon.com
PGP Public Key: finger bre...@halcyon.com
John Norstad
bre...@halcyon.com (Breier W. Scheetz) wrote:
> I've known that's possible, but what if I want to find newsgroups on a
> particular subject, and I don't know what their hiarchy is? I'd like to
> see a feature in which I type a word, and Newswatcher searches the full
> group list for occurances of that word. For example: I type "mac" and I
> get comp.sys.mac.games, comp.sys.mac.misc, etc.
Please see page 46 of the 2.0b1 user doc.
Henry L. Lefkowitz
In article <j-norstad-030...@norstad.acns.nwu.edu>,
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
--
Henry L. Lefkowitz
hen...@clark.net
Richard Shapiro
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> Keyboard navigation has always been a feature of NewsWatcher, since the
> very earliest versions. Just type the first few characters of each part of
> the group name. E.g., "co.sy.ma.co" to quickly jump to comp.sys.mac.comm.
> This is mentioned in the 2.0d17 user doc.
Is there some timing thing going on here (I'm sorry, I don't have access
to the d17 doc)? Seems like if I type really fast, this works fine but if
I delay even for a second, eg "co." <wait a second> "sy." <wait> "ma."
<wait> "co", it doesn't work at all -- each tiny delay appears to cause a
reset back to the beginning. No wonder I was having trouble getting this
to work - I'm a terrible typist.
--
rs/macr...@bbn.com or rsha...@bbn.com
Radical Liberation
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> NewsWatcher 2.0b1 is now available
Major kudos and congrats on the new version, Mr. Norstad. This has
everything a growing net-boy needs. I particularly like clicking on the
icon in messages with file attachments and ending up with the file decoded
and ready to go.
I also like the little touches like being able to selectively quote,
(shift-command-R,) in replies, (though I still don't understand why that
isn't the default... If nothing is selected then the whole article would
be quoted as expected.) I really love the new tabbing since I think white
space is one of the great tools for readability. The additional
option-clicking to ftp files is great though, of course, it will bring up
other URL support requests, (I wish I could have clicked on the http URL
in Mr. Giles .sig and had NCSAMosaic brought there).
If this sort of progress keeps up, then the Internet will no longer
be able to be cited as really user-unfriendly. Then where will all the
geeks go?
--
I am
Radical Liberation.
John Norstad
> Is there some timing thing going on here (I'm sorry, I don't have access
> to the d17 doc)? Seems like if I type really fast, this works fine but if
> I delay even for a second, eg "co." <wait a second> "sy." <wait> "ma."
> <wait> "co", it doesn't work at all -- each tiny delay appears to cause a
> reset back to the beginning. No wonder I was having trouble getting this
> to work - I'm a terrible typist.
The timing is based on the "Key repeat rate" you select in the "Keyboard"
control panel. Try setting the option all the way to the left (slowest).
Version 2.1 will have a much improved hierarchical full group list with
new searching and navigation features. It's all tied together with the new
filtering features planned for 2.1.
John Norstad
radic...@aol.com (Radical Liberation) wrote:
> The additional
> option-clicking to ftp files is great though, of course, it will bring up
> other URL support requests, (I wish I could have clicked on the http URL
> in Mr. Giles .sig and had NCSAMosaic brought there).
I plan to do this for both Gopher and Web URLs. It didn't quite make it
into the beta version.
--
John Norstad
Jan Melander
(John Norstad) writes:
>NewsWatcher 2.0b1 is now available at:
>
> ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/
>
>NewsWatcher is a free USENET newsreader for the Macintosh.
>
Is it to big for You to distribute it on the "binary" forum?, I can't use FTP
due to some security system. :-(
And I have understood that this is common for a lot of people in lager
companies...
Jan Melander
jan...@sto.fdata.se
Carl B. Constantine
preferences. NW just added the extra info and kept the info I had. This
saved me a lot of work.
One bug is that you can't past text into the Signature Box???
--
========================================================================
Carl B. Constantine B.C. Environment, Lands & Parks
End-User Support Analyst CCON...@epdiv1.env.gov.bc.ca
PGP Key available if you finger: CCON...@EUSACBC.env.gov.bc.ca
John V. Weil
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> NewsWatcher 2.0b1 is now available at:
>
> ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/
An outstanding addition to a superb series!!
I notice that when bowsing within a group the column spacing has now
changed with much more space to the left of the author's name with the
result that the article title is more distant. To my eye this makes it a
little more difficult to match the two. Is there any way to re-format
this spacing.
--
John V. Weil
John Norstad
wei...@defiance.hsc.colorado.edu (John V. Weil) wrote:
> I notice that when bowsing within a group the column spacing has now
> changed with much more space to the left of the author's name with the
> result that the article title is more distant. To my eye this makes it a
> little more difficult to match the two. Is there any way to re-format
> this spacing.
I'm afraid I don't understand this. I don't believe there was any change
from 2.0d17 to 2.0b1 in the spacing between the author and the subject in
subject windows.
--
John Norstad
John W. Baxter
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> In article <weil_j-0407...@ara1-2.hsc.colorado.edu>,
> wei...@defiance.hsc.colorado.edu (John V. Weil) wrote:
>
> > I notice that when bowsing within a group the column spacing has now
> > changed with much more space to the left of the author's name with the
> > result that the article title is more distant. To my eye this makes it a
> > little more difficult to match the two. Is there any way to re-format
> > this spacing.
>
> I'm afraid I don't understand this. I don't believe there was any change
> from 2.0d17 to 2.0b1 in the spacing between the author and the subject in
> subject windows.
Hi, John...
I didn't understand it either, until I set the Font/Size for article
lists to Bookman 12, as a test. I expected the column spacing to
decrease. Instead, it expanded greatly. Strange. Hope this helps.
--John
--
John Baxter Port Ludlow, WA, USA [West shore, Puget Sound]
No hablo Intel.
jwba...@pt.olympus.net
Doc O'Leary
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
>In article <macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>, macr...@bbn.com
>(Richard Shapiro) wrote:
>
>> Is there some timing thing going on here (I'm sorry, I don't have access
>> to the d17 doc)? Seems like if I type really fast, this works fine but if
>> I delay even for a second, eg "co." <wait a second> "sy." <wait> "ma."
>> <wait> "co", it doesn't work at all -- each tiny delay appears to cause a
>> reset back to the beginning. No wonder I was having trouble getting this
>> to work - I'm a terrible typist.
>
>The timing is based on the "Key repeat rate" you select in the "Keyboard"
>control panel. Try setting the option all the way to the left (slowest).
One problem I've come across along these lines is that I can get it to
work fine in my own group list, but if I try to get to a group in the full
group list, it only seems to process the first one or two keys before it
immediately starts from the beginning (e.g., typing "comp" might go to
"co" and then to "m" and then "p", so I end up at the first "p" newsgroup
rather than the first "comp" newsgroup). Are different procedures used
for the two, or is it possibly the number of newsgroups (32 vs. 9xxx) in
each list that causing problems?
Another problem, which was in the older versions but I never bothered to
report: when hidden and in the background opening articles, NewsWatcher
insists on invalidating it's invisible windows. It's really a pain to
start opening a number of articles, switch over to Telnet (hiding
NewsWatcher), and see the Finder (and any other application that isn't
foremost) constantly redraw their windows.
--------- Doc
--
"We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry." --- John Webster
Copyright (c) 1994 by Doc O'Leary. All rights reserved.
Chris P. Ross
wei...@defiance.hsc.colorado.edu (John V. Weil) wrote:
Actually, I'd like to be able to completely re-engineer the layout in
the newsgroup window. So, I can have the thread-expantion-dingle, then
the number in the thread, then the check(read) mark, then the author's
name, and then stick something extra like number of lines (something I
find very useful in the header view of newsreaders. And, it all comes
over in the XOVER request... Are you using XOVER to get the headers? It
should at least be an option...) before the subject of the article...
Anyway, thanks. Just requesting more features. (BTW, is there a way to
expand or collapse a thread with the keyboard?)
> --
> John V. Weil
- Chris
Paul Big Ears Menon
(Doc O'Leary) wrote:
> One problem I've come across along these lines is that I can get it to
> work fine in my own group list, but if I try to get to a group in the full
> group list, it only seems to process the first one or two keys before it
> immediately starts from the beginning (e.g., typing "comp" might go to
> "co" and then to "m" and then "p", so I end up at the first "p" newsgroup
> rather than the first "comp" newsgroup). Are different procedures used
> for the two, or is it possibly the number of newsgroups (32 vs. 9xxx) in
> each list that causing problems?
Not that I'm aware of.
Doc's problem is typically may be caused by the repeat key (speed)
or dubblklik (TM) setting. If you have one of them too fast, the
whatsit (NewsWatcher) will only consider those characters which
arrive withing a specified time from the (a) previous. Say, for
example you want to type comp.sys.mac.programmer. Typical typists
will strike the first few keys within the threshold (say 1/2) of
each other. That is:
"c"
then a gap of less that 1/2 sec then
"o"
then a gap of less than 1/2 sec then
"m" and so on...
If that gap is ever exceeded, the intelligent parsing ceases.
This is a system-wide feature, you can use this to select
zones in the Chooser, files in a Finder window, even files in
a Dialogue Box. Don't blame NewsWatcher for this.
However, pasting stuff into the Signature Box doesn't work,
nor does Undo, in general. A great change though - I love
the auto .newsrc up/download.
--
Paul Big Ears Menon
p...@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au
Computer Science, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia
Ph: +61 3 660 3209/2348
Fx: +61 3 662 1617
ICBM: lat 37^ 50' S long 145^ 0' E
WWW: http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/people/TSG/pnm.html
Jonathan Bauer
files (like d18) (or maybe I have not gotten that far) & there's a funny
typo using option-click when opening a group.
/j
Doc O'Leary
p...@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au (Paul Big Ears Menon) wrote, among other things:
>In article <doc-040794...@dialup-3-197.gw.umn.edu>, d...@cattle.com
>(Doc O'Leary) wrote:
>
>
> > One problem I've come across along these lines is that I can get it to
> > work fine in my own group list, but if I try to get to a group in the full
> > group list, it only seems to process the first one or two keys before it
> > immediately starts from the beginning (e.g., typing "comp" might go to
> > "co" and then to "m" and then "p", so I end up at the first "p" newsgroup
> > rather than the first "comp" newsgroup). Are different procedures used
> > for the two, or is it possibly the number of newsgroups (32 vs. 9xxx) in
> > each list that causing problems?
[snip]
>If that gap is ever exceeded, the intelligent parsing ceases.
>This is a system-wide feature, you can use this to select
>zones in the Chooser, files in a Finder window, even files in
>a Dialogue Box. Don't blame NewsWatcher for this.
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. The intelligent keyboard parsing
works perfectly in the Finder, etc. and it works perfectly in my group
list windows; however, it does not work properly when I try it with the
full group list (which is the only place it's really important for me,
because trying to find one group among 9000+ is a real pain).
Someone try it and verify or refute.
John Norstad
(Doc O'Leary) wrote:
> Someone try it and verify or refute.
Works fine for me. I use it every day.
Richard Shapiro
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. The intelligent keyboard parsing
works perfectly in the Finder, etc. and it works perfectly in my group
list windows; however, it does not work properly when I try it with the
full group list (which is the only place it's really important for me,
because trying to find one group among 9000+ is a real pain).
Someone try it and verify or refute.
This is exactly what I was commenting on initially. I *can* get it to
work in the Full Group List (which, as you say, is the only place it
really matters), but only if I type the name perfectly with
essentially no pause at all between key strokes. Even at the slowest
key-repeat rate, a pause of a second is too much. For me, this means I
can almost never get it to work - I just can't type accurately at that
speed. It may also be that the size of the list is a factor, since I
also have less trouble in my (very small) newsrc list. But I don't
know.
Anyway, I'd much prefer an optional dialog box, where I can take my
time and get the name right. It's still much faster than scrolling.
John Norstad
P. Ross) wrote:
> Actually, I'd like to be able to completely re-engineer the layout in
> the newsgroup window. So, I can have the thread-expantion-dingle, then
> the number in the thread, then the check(read) mark, then the author's
> name, and then stick something extra like number of lines (something I
> find very useful in the header view of newsreaders. And, it all comes
> over in the XOVER request... Are you using XOVER to get the headers? It
> should at least be an option...) before the subject of the article...
No, I don't currenty use XOVER, for two reasons: Not all news servers
support it, and for dialup users it can make opening groups even slower
than it is already.
However, I agree that XOVER should be an option, and that this would make
it feasible to add extra information to the subject window like the number
of lines and the date. It's on the wish list. (See page 47 of the 2.0b1
user doc.)
> Anyway, thanks. Just requesting more features. (BTW, is there a way to
> expand or collapse a thread with the keyboard?)
Yes. Command-right and left arrow, as in the Finder. (See the 2.0d17 user doc.)
John Norstad
p...@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au (Paul Big Ears Menon) wrote:
> However, pasting stuff into the Signature Box doesn't work,
Will be fixed in 2.0b2, to be released soon.
> nor does Undo, in general.
On the wish list, and it has high priority. I will implement Undo for at
least text editing and for the Next and Mark commands.
>A great change though - I love
> the auto .newsrc up/download.
That feature isn't new, although I made a few improvements and fixed a few
errors in 2.0b1.
John Norstad
jhb...@panix.com (Jonathan Bauer) wrote:
> I'm sorry it doesn't implement kill
> files (like d18) (or maybe I have not gotten that far)
This is scheduled for version 2.1. See page 46 of the 2.0b1 user doc for a
description of my plans.
>& there's a funny
> typo using option-click when opening a group.
Yes. Will be fixed in 2.0b2, to be released soon.
John Norstad
(Richard Shapiro) wrote:
> Anyway, I'd much prefer an optional dialog box, where I can take my
> time and get the name right. It's still much faster than scrolling.
This is planned for version 2.1. See page 46 of the 2.0b1 user doc.
Jay Bourland
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> In article <weil_j-0407...@ara1-2.hsc.colorado.edu>,
> wei...@defiance.hsc.colorado.edu (John V. Weil) wrote:
>
> > I notice that when bowsing within a group the column spacing has now
> > changed with much more space to the left of the author's name with the
> > result that the article title is more distant. To my eye this makes it a
> > little more difficult to match the two. Is there any way to re-format
> > this spacing.
>
> I'm afraid I don't understand this. I don't believe there was any change
> from 2.0d17 to 2.0b1 in the spacing between the author and the subject in
> subject windows.
>
I've noticed the same effect. When I first started NewsWatcher, I had to
make the newsgroup windows almost as wide as my 16" monitor. I think that
the font choice plays a big role here. I was originally using Avant Garde,
wchich gave the w*i*d*e windows, but Arial (a similar font) gives more
readable ones. Maybe this has something to do with the new tabbing/spacing
routines???? BTW, I noticed that most of the pref's changes don't seem to
take effect until NewsWatcher is restarted. I know the font/size stuff is
only supposed to be for new windows, but I changed other stuff as well
(for example showing "details" in a message), and it took a restart to see
the effects. Thanks for a nice upgrade, John.
Jay
--
Jay Bourland
ja...@MATH.ColoState.EDU
John Norstad
ja...@MATH.ColoState.EDU (Jay Bourland) wrote:
> I've noticed the same effect. When I first started NewsWatcher, I had to
> make the newsgroup windows almost as wide as my 16" monitor. I think that
> the font choice plays a big role here. I was originally using Avant Garde,
> wchich gave the w*i*d*e windows, but Arial (a similar font) gives more
> readable ones. Maybe this has something to do with the new tabbing/spacing
> routines????
The exact rule is that NewsWatcher reserves 18 times the width of the
widest character in the current font and size for the author name in
subject windows.
This has nothing to do with any kind of tabbing.
> BTW, I noticed that most of the pref's changes don't seem to
> take effect until NewsWatcher is restarted. I know the font/size stuff is
> only supposed to be for new windows, but I changed other stuff as well
> (for example showing "details" in a message), and it took a restart to see
> the effects. Thanks for a nice upgrade, John.
That shouldn't have happened. For example, if you turn on the "Show
details" option in the "Message Options" topic, then you open a new
message window, it should open with details displayed. I just tried it,
and it works fine for me.
Perhaps you expected this prefs change to affect a message window you
already had opened. That would explain the confusion. To show details in a
message window which is already open, use the "Show Details" command in
the "Edit" menu (Command-H).
The only preference change which requires that you quit and rerun the
program is the news server address.
Richard W. Stickle
ccon...@epdiv1.env.gov.bc.ca (Carl B. Constantine) wrote:
> The biggest thing I liked is I didn't have to recreate all my
> preferences. NW just added the extra info and kept the info I had. This
> saved me a lot of work.
>
I'd like to second that comment. Jphn has done a great job of letting us
update Newswatcher, giving us new capabilities, and NOT making us do any
work for them
Thanks John!!
Rick
--
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
,__o Rick Stickle | Mission to Planet Earth: ,__o
_-\_<; rick.s...@gsfc.nasa.gov| Earth Observing System _-\_<;
(*)/'(*) or rsti...@aol.com | Here's looking at You.... (*)/'(*)
:::::::::::::::::::: Only My Opinions - Not those of NASA ::::::::::::::::
William R. Dickson
(Doc O'Leary) wrote:
> Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. The intelligent keyboard parsing
> works perfectly in the Finder, etc. and it works perfectly in my group
> list windows; however, it does not work properly when I try it with the
> full group list (which is the only place it's really important for me,
> because trying to find one group among 9000+ is a real pain).
>
> Someone try it and verify or refute.
It works fine for me on my 7100 at work. It does not work fine for me on
my Duo 210 at home -- usually only the first letter registers. I'll play
with it some more when I get home.
-Bill
--
William R. Dickson, Regional Desktop Publishing Specialist
Kinko's Copies, Seattle, WA -- wdic...@regional.wa.kinkos.com
ralph muha
Norstad, j-no...@nwu.edu writes:
:>In article <cross-05079...@129.2.90.38>, cr...@eng.umd.edu
(Chris
:>P. Ross) wrote:
:>
:>> name, and then stick something extra like number of lines (something I
:>> find very useful in the header view of newsreaders. And, it all comes
:>> over in the XOVER request... Are you using XOVER to get the headers?
It
:>> should at least be an option...) before the subject of the article...
:>
:>No, I don't currenty use XOVER, for two reasons: Not all news servers
:>support it, and for dialup users it can make opening groups even slower
:>than it is already.
For dial-up users, knowing the size of a message before you read it
can be extremely useful...
ralph
John Norstad
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad - that's me) wrote:
> I'm afraid I don't understand this. I don't believe there was any change
> from 2.0d17 to 2.0b1 in the spacing between the author and the subject in
> subject windows.
Eureka! I have figured it out by actually comparing the 2.0d17 and 2.0b2
source code, which I should have done in the first place.
In 2.0d17, the space reserved for the author is
18 * wid
where wid = the width of the character '9' in the current font and size.
In 2.0b2, the space reserved for the author is
18 * wid
where wid = the width of the widest character in the current font and size.
For monospaced fonts, there is no difference. For non-monospaced fonts,
there's a big difference.
I will fix this in 2.0b3. I have gone back to the 2.0d17 formula, which
those of you who use non-monospaced fonts seem to prefer.
John Norstad
> For dial-up users, knowing the size of a message before you read it
> can be extremely useful...
Yes, certainly. But if this is at the expense of making all subject
windows open 4 to 5 times slower, is it still useful?
I do plan to do this, but dialup users shouldn't expect miracles.
Joann Zimmerman
rick.s...@gsfc.nasa.gov (Richard W. Stickle) wrote:
> I'd like to second that comment. Jphn has done a great job of letting us
> update Newswatcher, giving us new capabilities, and NOT making us do any
> work for them
I'm quite sure there will be other people replying before me, so I'm
applying no ordinal number to my thanks. John has finally--and quite
neatly--solved all the archiving problems that have been worrying me for
at least a year. The "redirect" feature is worth its weight in platinum,
particularly the bit that retains the original sender. And his current
plans for 2.1 look like Just The Right Next Thing.
--
"I never understood people who don't have bookshelves."
--George Plimpton
Joann Zimmerman jz...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
I R A Aggie
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
+ In article <weil_j-0407...@ara1-2.hsc.colorado.edu>,
+ wei...@defiance.hsc.colorado.edu (John V. Weil) wrote:
+
+ > I notice that when bowsing within a group the column spacing has now
+ > changed with much more space to the left of the author's name with the
+ > result that the article title is more distant. To my eye this makes it a
+ > little more difficult to match the two. Is there any way to re-format
+ > this spacing.
+ I'm afraid I don't understand this. I don't believe there was any change
+ from 2.0d17 to 2.0b1 in the spacing between the author and the subject in
+ subject windows.
1) neat upgrade...truely cool!
2) I dislike the "feature" noted above as well, it looks like:
[typical group window is open]
T 2 Author's Name Subject
blah blah
T=the little triangle-thingy. There's a tremendous amount of whitespace
between each
field, especially between the Author and the Subject. The d17 version was
much more
compact in this regard, which IMHO is easier to read. I thought it might
be a font
problem, but I've changed that, so I dunno. I'll play with that some more
and see
if it does make a difference.
James
David Messina
rick.s...@gsfc.nasa.gov (Richard W. Stickle) wrote:
> In article <cconstan-040...@eusacbc.env.gov.bc.ca>,
> ccon...@epdiv1.env.gov.bc.ca (Carl B. Constantine) wrote:
>
> > The biggest thing I liked is I didn't have to recreate all my
> > preferences. NW just added the extra info and kept the info I had. This
> > saved me a lot of work.
> >
> I'd like to second that comment. Jphn has done a great job of letting us
> update Newswatcher, giving us new capabilities, and NOT making us do any
> work for them
I'm not complaining, incidentally -- I'm just as thrilled with John's
wonderful work as the rest of you. I'd just like to mention that for some
reason, I *did* have to redo all of the prefs. Contrary to p.37 of the
2.0b1 user doc, a new 'Newswatcher Prefs' was created, but the old
'Newswatcher Preferences' (with the full group list in it, I believe)
remains.
Could this be a result of upgrading from 2.0d18 instead of 2.0d17?
--
David Messina
mes...@mcs.com
I R A Aggie
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
+ For monospaced fonts, there is no difference. For non-monospaced fonts,
+ there's a big difference.
Good, at least I'm not going nuts...ah, well, you know... :) Thanks for the fix.
Gotta love the Reply interface...
James - I thought Courier was a fixed space font...
John Norstad
stri...@masig.fsu.edu (I R A Aggie) wrote:
> + I'm afraid I don't understand this. I don't believe there was any change
> + from 2.0d17 to 2.0b1 in the spacing between the author and the subject in
> + subject windows.
>
> 1) neat upgrade...truely cool!
> 2) I dislike the "feature" noted above as well, it looks like:
>
> [typical group window is open]
>
> T 2 Author's Name Subject
> blah blah
>
> T=the little triangle-thingy. There's a tremendous amount of whitespace
> between each
> field, especially between the Author and the Subject. The d17 version was
> much more
> compact in this regard, which IMHO is easier to read. I thought it might
> be a font
> problem, but I've changed that, so I dunno. I'll play with that some more
> and see
> if it does make a difference.
I found the problem, and it will be fixed in 2.0b3. It only happens with
non mono-spaced fonts. Try Monaco 9 or 12 for now.
John Norstad
(David Messina) wrote:
> I'm not complaining, incidentally -- I'm just as thrilled with John's
> wonderful work as the rest of you. I'd just like to mention that for some
> reason, I *did* have to redo all of the prefs. Contrary to p.37 of the
> 2.0b1 user doc, a new 'Newswatcher Prefs' was created, but the old
> 'Newswatcher Preferences' (with the full group list in it, I believe)
> remains.
>
> Could this be a result of upgrading from 2.0d18 instead of 2.0d17?
Yes, that's the problem. 2.0d18 was not developed at NU. The 2.0d18 prefs
files and the NU NewsWatcher prefs files are not compatible, evidently.
I always try to be careful to make each new NU version of NewsWatcher
understand all the previous NU version's prefs files. But there's not much
I can do about other people's versions.
Scott Manelis
nice. I especially love the URL support. I regularly read the
comp.sys.mac.digest group to get the updated listing of new files at
Stanford and the University of Michigan, and was wondering if you could
add support for thier method of listing files?
For example..
[Archived as /info-mac/cfg/auto-clock-144.hqx; 170K]
Option-click would gather the file from Stanford using Fetch or Anarchie.
That would be wonderful. Currently, I have an AppleScript to fetch the
files from a list I create, but NewsWatcher is really what I use to browse
the digests.
One other suggestion, would it be possible to change the icons at the top
of the new message window to small icons? Some Mac users still have small
screens, and it seems a big use of screen real estate. Just a suggestion.
I love the program. Thanks again for all your work.
--
Scott Manelis - m...@infotopia.com
"Lick their postage stamp minds."
Charles Wiltgen
Then imagine it again when I pressed Command-H...and I Selected All and
deleted without deleting my .sig!
Bless you! This is *seriously* cool.
--
Charles Wiltgen "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and
cwil...@mcs.com then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
(INTP) At night, the ice weasels come." - Nietzsche (Groening)
World Wide Web http://www.mcs.net/~cwiltgen/home.html
Roy Eassa
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> > Anyway, thanks. Just requesting more features. (BTW, is there a way to
> > expand or collapse a thread with the keyboard?)
>
> Yes. Command-right and left arrow, as in the Finder. (See the 2.0d17
user doc.)
...or, try the keypad shortcuts! After a short period of adjustment, this
feature may become the single best time-saver on your Mac. (The "/" key
on the keypad toggles expand/collapse if you have the keypad shortcuts
turned on.)
--
Roy Eassa
r...@tiac.net
Roy Eassa
> For dial-up users, knowing the size of a message before you read it
> can be extremely useful...
>
Yes, yes, yes, yes! I agree 100%!
--
Roy Eassa
r...@tiac.net
Roy Eassa
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> In article <2vc4ek$m...@sundog.tiac.net>, ralph muha <rm...@tiac.net> wrote:
>
> > For dial-up users, knowing the size of a message before you read it
> > can be extremely useful...
>
> Yes, certainly. But if this is at the expense of making all subject
> windows open 4 to 5 times slower, is it still useful?
>
> I do plan to do this, but dialup users shouldn't expect miracles.
This should please everybody: Do with message sizes what Finder 7.x does
when showing folder sizes: open the window with them all blank at first,
then fill them in in the background! The group should open just as fast
as before, but the sizes will appear as time passes.
--
Roy Eassa
r...@tiac.net
Ron Ross
> > Contrary to p.37 of the
> > 2.0b1 user doc, a new 'Newswatcher Prefs' was created, but the old
> > 'Newswatcher Preferences' (with the full group list in it, I believe)
> > remains.
> >
> > Could this be a result of upgrading from 2.0d18 instead of 2.0d17?
>
> Yes, that's the problem. 2.0d18 was not developed at NU. The 2.0d18 prefs
> files and the NU NewsWatcher prefs files are not compatible, evidently.
Odd, I updated from 2.0d18 and my prefs were replaced.
-- Ron
--
Ron Ross ron...@panix.com CIS: 73060,373
Chris P. Ross
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> In article <cross-05079...@129.2.90.38>, cr...@eng.umd.edu (Chris
> P. Ross) wrote:
>
> > Actually, I'd like to be able to completely re-engineer the layout in
> > the newsgroup window. So, I can have the thread-expantion-dingle, then
> > the number in the thread, then the check(read) mark, then the author's
> > name, and then stick something extra like number of lines (something I
> > find very useful in the header view of newsreaders. And, it all comes
> > over in the XOVER request... Are you using XOVER to get the headers? It
> > should at least be an option...) before the subject of the article...
>
> No, I don't currenty use XOVER, for two reasons: Not all news servers
> support it, and for dialup users it can make opening groups even slower
> than it is already.
Really? Slower than two separate calls into NntpGetHeaders/NetCommand
for each XHDR request? Why is this? (BTW, I'm on a dial-in link, so
speed is very important to me...)
> However, I agree that XOVER should be an option, and that this would make
> it feasible to add extra information to the subject window like the number
> of lines and the date. It's on the wish list. (See page 47 of the 2.0b1
> user doc.)
Okay, cool. (*smile*) Thanks!
> --
> John Norstad
> Academic Computing and Network Services
> Northwestern University
> j-no...@nwu.edu
- Chris
--
Chris P. Ross
College of Engineering, University of Maryland - Project Glue
cr...@eng.umd.edu
Chris P. Ross
No, that won't work. The point of using XOVER, is that all of the
information (number, author, subject, lines, bytes, date, message-id, etc)
at once. The problem could only be in that it's alot more data. But, I'd
expect that it would still be about as fast as making the multiple XHDR
requests... That's just icky...
But, as to why it won't work, is that all the info comes over at once.
So, once you have the author and subject, you already have the number of
lines. It's the extra time it takes to get all of it that is in
question...
(I still think it won't be that bad...)
> --
> Roy Eassa
> r...@tiac.net
Duncan Sinclair
header it has this:
References: <j-norstad-030...@norstad.acns.nwu.edu>
<macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
<j-norstad-030...@norstad.acns.nwu.edu>
<macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
<2v7mqb$2...@news.acns.nwu.edu>
<macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
<j-norstad-030...@aragorn23.acns.nwu.edu>
<macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
<j-norstad-040...@aragorn28.acns.nwu.edu>
<doc-040794...@dialup-3-197.gw.umn.edu>
<pnm-050794...@thylacine.cs.rmit.oz.au>
<doc-050794...@dialup-3-197.gw.umn.edu>
Now the news reader I use (NN) likes to count the number of references,
and display this information in it's menu of articles in each group.
Alas, the new NewsWatcher References header style means it only counts
1 reference.
Is this a NN problem, or is NewsWatcher illegally formatting its
References line?
--
Duncan Sinclair | sinc...@dis.strath.ac.uk | sinc...@dcs.gla.ac.uk
--- Would the *real* UNIX Operating System please stand up. ---
John Norstad
P. Ross) wrote:
> Really? Slower than two separate calls into NntpGetHeaders/NetCommand
> for each XHDR request? Why is this? (BTW, I'm on a dial-in link, so
> speed is very important to me...)
I haven't actually tested it, so I could be wrong. But with XOVER, you are
asking the server for lots of header information for each article, more
than just the author and subject. So lots more data has to be sent from
the server, over the phone line, to your Mac. With slow dialup
connections, the amount of extra data being transmitted from server to
client could easily slow down the operation significantly.
You mention two separate calls to a function inside the code. The CPU time
required to do this is irrelevant and is completely overwhelmed by the
time spent waiting for the response to arrive over the net or phone line.
The time spent waiting for the response to arrive is determined by four
factors: the number of request/response pairs, the speed of the server,
the speed of the network connection, and the total amount of data
transmitted. On slow dialup links, the total amount of data transmitted
increases in importance in determining the speed of the entire operation.
This is what slightly concerns me about XOVER. On fast direct network
connections, the speed of the server is usually the critical factor.
But these are minor points. I do intend to support XOVER as an optional
feature in some future version, and when the time comes we'll find out the
answers to all these performance questions. It's on the wish list.
I wish I had a version of XHDR which let me specify exactly the set of
header lines I want to have returned. But no such command exists in the
NNTP protocol. With XHDR, you can only ask for one header at a time. With
XOVER, you get all the header info which your server administrator has
configured to be "important". There's nothing in between.
John Norstad
wrote:
> Now the news reader I use (NN) likes to count the number of references,
> and display this information in it's menu of articles in each group.
>
> Alas, the new NewsWatcher References header style means it only counts
> 1 reference.
>
> Is this a NN problem, or is NewsWatcher illegally formatting its
> References line?
It must be an NN problem. NewsWatcher's "References" header line is
completely legal. NN evidently doesn't understand "folded" header lines.
Stephen Merkowitz
Manelis) wrote:
> Ah. Thank you very much for the updated NewsWatcher. It feels very
> nice. I especially love the URL support. I regularly read the
> comp.sys.mac.digest group to get the updated listing of new files at
> Stanford and the University of Michigan, and was wondering if you could
> add support for thier method of listing files?
> For example..
> [Archived as /info-mac/cfg/auto-clock-144.hqx; 170K]
> Option-click would gather the file from Stanford using Fetch or Anarchie.
One problem I have with this is that we need to encourage the use of
mirrors. When I give a reference to UMich or Sumex, I usually suggest
that a mirror should be used. If this form of reference is to be
supported in NewsWatcher I suggest that there be a preference for a
"favorite mirror". If John decides not to support this type of reference
how should we give references to files on UMich and Sumex which conform to
the standards that allow us to use option-click without increasing the
overload on these servers?
--
Stephen Merkowitz
merk...@phepds.dnet.nasa.gov
Adam Elman
merk...@phepds.dnet.nasa.gov (Stephen Merkowitz) wrote:
I would agree that this would be an extremely useful feature. I was happy
when the latest version of Anarchie was released, not so much because I
could use it to grab files off machines on which I have accounts, but more
because I could use it to grab files from UMich via AFS on a local
machine.
Speaking of this, it would be nice if Anarchie supported some sort of "Get
from here" feature; what I mean is, if I have a bookmark open to a Sumex
mirror, I could paste in the path from the Info-Mac digest and download it
that way; currently, I have to either type in all the host information
manually and then paste the path in, or navigate manually through the
filesystem till I get to the appropriate place. (Yes, I should really
tell this directly to Peter Lewis -- now that I've posted it, I probably
will be more likely to mail him...:)
BTW, let me add my voice to those praising the new NewsWatcher -- the new
reply window is nothing short of AMAZING.
Later,
Adam
--
Adam Elman | WWW: http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~elmanad/
ael...@cs.stanford.edu | Finger me or check out my Web page for PGP key!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask 'Why me?' Then a voice answers
'Nothing personal, your name just happened to come up.'" -- Peanuts
Bob Dalgleish
>In article <pnm-050794...@thylacine.cs.rmit.oz.au>,
>p...@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au (Paul Big Ears Menon) wrote:
I would really hate to say that the new NewsWatcher is broken already but
a bunch of partially broken news articles have arrived at my site with
the references mangled. This causes trn to choke while building up the
trees.
Whether this is particular to the NW program or the newsfeed through
which the stuff is flowing, I don't know. I would suggest, however,
that NW be trained to not generate more than a couple of hundred
characters in the References: line of replies.
--
-- * * * CFV: net.short.signatures * * *--
Bob Dalgleish zaphod!bo...@tribune.usask.ca CompuServe: 70521,2011
Christopher Gunn
P. Ross) wrote:
> In article <j-norstad-050...@aragorn4.acns.nwu.edu>,
> j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> > In article <cross-05079...@129.2.90.38>, cr...@eng.umd.edu (Chris
> > P. Ross) wrote:
>
> Really? Slower than two separate calls into NntpGetHeaders/NetCommand
> for each XHDR request? Why is this? (BTW, I'm on a dial-in link, so
> speed is very important to me...)
>
> > However, I agree that XOVER should be an option, and that this would make
> > it feasible to add extra information to the subject window like the number
> > of lines and the date. It's on the wish list. (See page 47 of the 2.0b1
> > user doc.)
Where exactly are these NNTP features documented? I've used Mosaic to
browse through various WWW facilities and retrieved RFCs 977 and 1036,
but haven't found anything that seems particularly current.
Christopher Gunn Molecular Graphics and Modeling Laboratory
1k1...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu University of Kansas
Phone: 913-864-4428 or -4495 Malott Hall
Lawrence, KS 66045
David C. Doherty
>m...@infotopia.com (Scott Manelis) wrote:
> > Ah. Thank you very much for the updated NewsWatcher. It feels very
> > ...love URL support...
> >
> > [stuff about supporting sumex, etc. style listings]
>
> One problem I have with this is that we need to encourage the use of
> mirrors. When I give a reference to UMich or Sumex, I usually suggest
> that a mirror should be used. If this form of reference is to be
> supported in NewsWatcher I suggest that there be a preference for a
> "favorite mirror". If John decides not to support this type of reference
> how should we give references to files on UMich and Sumex which conform to
> the standards that allow us to use option-click without increasing the
> overload on these servers?
>
I've been pondering this too. Here are a few ideas:
Newswatcher is parsing the string enough to know if it
is a valid (or slack) URL, so it seems that it should be able
to easily to detect whether the selected text contains a valid
pathname (which is part of a valid URL).
Instead of directly sending off the URL to the helper ftp
app, it could pop up a dialog which allows the user to fill
in the rest of the URL.
ferinstance:
option clicking on "info-mac/comm/newswatcher2.4.hqx" :)
brings up a dialog with an editable text field with the string
in it. One could then prepend the "ftp://ftp.mirror.edu/mirrors/"
or whatever is needed, then hit OK.
Even better:
it pops up a dialog with editable text fields for each part of a
URL, e.g.,
protocol:[ ] e.g, ftp, http, etc.
port number:[ ]
IP Address:[ ] ftp.mirror.edu
path: [info-mac/comm/newswatcher2.4.hqx]
user presses OK,
NW then re-constructs the URL, with appropriate punctuation, and
sends it off the the helper app.
This would also be useful for option clicking on full URL's:
NW parses the URL, fills in the fields in the dialog. This would make it
easier to change the machine name to that of a mirror.
--
David C. Doherty
Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Inc.
doh...@msc.edu
John Norstad
> I would really hate to say that the new NewsWatcher is broken already but
> a bunch of partially broken news articles have arrived at my site with
> the references mangled. This causes trn to choke while building up the
> trees.
>
> Whether this is particular to the NW program or the newsfeed through
> which the stuff is flowing, I don't know. I would suggest, however,
> that NW be trained to not generate more than a couple of hundred
> characters in the References: line of replies.
As far as I know, NewsWatcher generates perfectly legal "References"
header lines according to the Internet RFCs. I'd have to see a specific
example to be convinced otherwise. If I obey the RFCs, and if trn can't
handle it, then it's trn's problem, not mine. If I am really doing
something illegal, then it's my problem, and I'll fix it.
Adam C. Engst
ael...@cs.stanford.edu (Adam Elman) wrote:
> Speaking of this, it would be nice if Anarchie supported some sort of "Get
> from here" feature; what I mean is, if I have a bookmark open to a Sumex
> mirror, I could paste in the path from the Info-Mac digest and download it
> that way; currently, I have to either type in all the host information
> manually and then paste the path in, or navigate manually through the
> filesystem till I get to the appropriate place. (Yes, I should really
> tell this directly to Peter Lewis -- now that I've posted it, I probably
> will be more likely to mail him...:)
You can kind of do this already in Anarchie. Just bring up the bookmarks
list, option-double-click on a bookmark (which brings up the bookmark for
editing, and paste in the pathname that you've copied already. It's a
little harder, but doesn't add any complexity to the interface.
cheers ... -Adam
--
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Editor -- a...@tidbits.com -- in...@tidbits.com
Author of Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh -- ti...@tidbits.com
Internet Explorer Kit for Macintosh -- i...@tidbits.com
Internet Starter Kit for Windows -- is...@tidbits.com
Steve Knouse
>I especially love the URL support. I regularly read the
> comp.sys.mac.digest group to get the updated listing of new files at
> Stanford and the University of Michigan, and was wondering if you could
> add support for thier method of listing files?
>
> For example..
>
> [Archived as /info-mac/cfg/auto-clock-144.hqx; 170K]
>
> Option-click would gather the file from Stanford using Fetch or Anarchie.
If you do that, and I'd love for you to do so, I'd like a preference to
indicate my Info-Mac mirror and a secondary mirror if the primary is tied
up.
--
steve
kno...@neosoft.com
tomball tx (30 miles nw of houston)
Jeannie Le
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
>
> NewsWatcher 2.0b1 is now available at:
>
> ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/
>
> NewsWatcher is a free USENET newsreader for the Macintosh.
>
> This is a major new release. New features include:
>
> New message window design
> Enhancements to saving files
> Fetching referenced files via anonymous FTP
> Extracting attached binary files
> Full drag and drop support
> Canceling articles
> Simple Latin-1 character set support
> Authentication
> Improved memory management and error handling
> Additional keyboard shortcuts
> Improved printing
> Many human interface improvements
> Many news handling improvements
>
> All of the new features and changes are described in detail in the new
> 2.0b1 user document.
>
> When you FTP the new version, also go to the "helpers" subdirectory and
> get a copy of Aaron Gile's new "uuUndo" program. NewsWatcher uses this
> program to help decode attached binaries. If you don't already have them,
> also get copies of the latest versions of Fetch, Anarchie, and StuffIt
> Expander from the helpers directory. NewsWatcher also uses these programs
> as helpers.
>
> NewsWatcher requires a Macintosh running System 7.0 or later with 2.5
> megabytes or more of memory and a hard drive. The Mac must be connected to
> the Internet, and MacTCP must be properly installed and configured.
>
> --
> John "better late than never" Norstad
Jeannie Le
> the Internet, and MacTCP must be properly installed and configured.
>
use MacPPP, will NW still work?
Thanks,
Jeannie Le
John Norstad
jea...@girch1.med.uth.tmc.edu (Jeannie Le) wrote:
> You specifically mentioned MacTCP. If I want to get a PPP connection and
> use MacPPP, will NW still work?
Yes. But MacPPP requires MacTCP, so you still need MacTCP.
--
John Norstad
Sean Graham
exactly are these NNTP features documented? I've used Mosaic to
> browse through various WWW facilities and retrieved RFCs 977 and 1036,
> but haven't found anything that seems particularly current.
Current news-related RFCs include the following:
o RFC 822 specifies the format of messages; RFC 1036 uses this.
o RFC 977 specifies NNTP, the Network News Transfer Protocol.
o RFC 1036 specifies the format of USENET articles.
o RFC 1123 amends RFC 822.
o RFC 1153 specifies the digest format some groups use.
--
sean n. graham nih bethesda, md se...@shiloh.nimh.nih.gov
Chris P. Ross
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> In article <cross-06079...@129.2.90.38>, cr...@eng.umd.edu (Chris
> P. Ross) wrote:
>
> > Really? Slower than two separate calls into NntpGetHeaders/NetCommand
> > for each XHDR request? Why is this? (BTW, I'm on a dial-in link, so
> > speed is very important to me...)
>
> But these are minor points. I do intend to support XOVER as an optional
> feature in some future version, and when the time comes we'll find out the
> answers to all these performance questions. It's on the wish list.
>
> I wish I had a version of XHDR which let me specify exactly the set of
> header lines I want to have returned. But no such command exists in the
> NNTP protocol. With XHDR, you can only ask for one header at a time. With
> XOVER, you get all the header info which your server administrator has
> configured to be "important". There's nothing in between.
Well, it sounds like one needs to be added. :-) Who's in charge of
putting new things into NNTP...
Hmm. I just noticed a new bug (NW 2.0b2). When I hit Cmd-right-arrow
on a line in the editor, it puts the cursor at the end of the current
line, but the real cursor (ie, not the thing I see) seems to be a
character ahead. If I backspace, I'll delete the newline, and if I type,
it will show up at the head of the next line. Anyone else seen this?
> --
> John Norstad
> Academic Computing and Network Services
> Northwestern University
> j-no...@nwu.edu
- Chris
John Gersh
jwba...@olympus.net (John W. Baxter) wrote:
[about an apparent expansion of whitespace in article lists in NW 2.0b1]
>
> I didn't understand it either, until I set the Font/Size for article
> lists to Bookman 12, as a test. I expected the column spacing to
> decrease. Instead, it expanded greatly. Strange. Hope this helps.
I found this also, even with as innocuous a font as Geneva 12. In NW
2.0d17 there was about 1/4" of space between the end of a long author name
and the beginning of the subject. In 2.0b1 there is about 2". The rest of
the list is expanded proportionately.
=== John R. Gersh John_...@aplmail.jhuapl.edu
=== The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
=== Laurel, MD 20723 +1(301)953-5503
Duncan Sinclair
>I've just read an article posted by NewsWatcher 2.0b2. In it's
>header it has this:
>References: <j-norstad-030...@norstad.acns.nwu.edu>
> <macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
> <j-norstad-030...@norstad.acns.nwu.edu>
> <macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
> <2v7mqb$2...@news.acns.nwu.edu>
> <macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
> <j-norstad-030...@aragorn23.acns.nwu.edu>
> <macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
> <j-norstad-040...@aragorn28.acns.nwu.edu>
> <doc-040794...@dialup-3-197.gw.umn.edu>
> <pnm-050794...@thylacine.cs.rmit.oz.au>
> <doc-050794...@dialup-3-197.gw.umn.edu>
>Now the news reader I use (NN) likes to count the number of references,
>and display this information in it's menu of articles in each group.
>Alas, the new NewsWatcher References header style means it only counts
>1 reference.
>Is this a NN problem, or is NewsWatcher illegally formatting its
>References line?
Turns out that it's not NN's problem, but INN's NOV's problem. Manually
running XOVER commands on these articles shows only one reference.
Can one of the INN gurus take a look at this? (Alas, the INN server
I use is not under my control - but it's version 1.4)
Cheers,
Stan Kerr
P. Ross) wrote:
> Hmm. I just noticed a new bug (NW 2.0b2). When I hit Cmd-right-arrow
> on a line in the editor, it puts the cursor at the end of the current
> line, but the real cursor (ie, not the thing I see) seems to be a
> character ahead. If I backspace, I'll delete the newline, and if I type,
> it will show up at the head of the next line. Anyone else seen this?
I've seen this sort of behavior in Eudora; I'm told it's a low level bug
in the TextEdit code of the system.
--
Stan Kerr, Computing & Communications Services Office/U of Illinois
stan...@uiuc.edu
Stan Kerr
C. Doherty) wrote:
...
> ferinstance:
>
> option clicking on "info-mac/comm/newswatcher2.4.hqx" :)
>
> brings up a dialog with an editable text field with the string
> in it. One could then prepend the "ftp://ftp.mirror.edu/mirrors/"
> or whatever is needed, then hit OK.
Ugh, I don't want to have to remember addresses, my brain is full enough.
I would vote for lobbying the developer of an ftp client, say Anarchie or
Fetch, to add a cooperating feature in the client. Perhaps, if a partial
ftp URL is passed to it, the client would ask the user to select a site,
or maybe even allow them to drop the URL onto a bookmark for the site.
This puts the burden of what needs to be done on the ftp client, where I
think it belongs.
Scott Manelis
merk...@phepds.dnet.nasa.gov (Stephen Merkowitz) wrote:
> One problem I have with this is that we need to encourage the use of
> mirrors. When I give a reference to UMich or Sumex, I usually suggest
> that a mirror should be used. If this form of reference is to be
> supported in NewsWatcher I suggest that there be a preference for a
> "favorite mirror".
I agree completly. I don't ever actually use sumex-aim, but a nearby mirror.
> If John decides not to support this type of reference
> how should we give references to files on UMich and Sumex which conform to
> the standards that allow us to use option-click without increasing the
> overload on these servers?
I think your suggestion about a preference for a 'favorite mirror' is a
good one. Since support for the major archives 'slack' form of URL could
be added, I think a preference mapping those archives to a mirror would be
very helpful.
What do you think John?
--
Scott Manelis - m...@infotopia.com
"Lick their postage stamp minds."
John Norstad
P. Ross) wrote:
> Well, it sounds like one needs to be added. :-) Who's in charge of
> putting new things into NNTP...
Nobody is in charge. Sigh.
> Hmm. I just noticed a new bug (NW 2.0b2). When I hit Cmd-right-arrow
> on a line in the editor, it puts the cursor at the end of the current
> line, but the real cursor (ie, not the thing I see) seems to be a
> character ahead. If I backspace, I'll delete the newline, and if I type,
> it will show up at the head of the next line. Anyone else seen this?
You're right. I'll fix it. Sigh.
John Norstad
John_...@aplmail.jhuapl.edu (John Gersh) wrote:
> I found this also, even with as innocuous a font as Geneva 12. In NW
> 2.0d17 there was about 1/4" of space between the end of a long author name
> and the beginning of the subject. In 2.0b1 there is about 2". The rest of
> the list is expanded proportionately.
This is fixed in 2.0b3, which I hope to release later today.
John Norstad
stan...@uiuc.edu (Stan Kerr) wrote:
> Ugh, I don't want to have to remember addresses, my brain is full enough.
> I would vote for lobbying the developer of an ftp client, say Anarchie or
> Fetch, to add a cooperating feature in the client. Perhaps, if a partial
> ftp URL is passed to it, the client would ask the user to select a site,
> or maybe even allow them to drop the URL onto a bookmark for the site.
> This puts the burden of what needs to be done on the ftp client, where I
> think it belongs.
Perhaps even better: A smart FTP client, when it sees
"sumex-aim.stanford.edu" as the host part of a URL, could be configured to
automagically use the "nearest" info-mac archive instead. This, plus the
use of full URL notation in the info-mac digests, would solve the problem.
Note an important and highly desirable attribute of this idea: I don't
have to write any code. :-)
This is just one idea. There's lots of other ideas. I don't know what is best.
John Norstad
Manelis) wrote:
> What do you think John?
I just posted a brief note on this.
In general, I think NewsWatcher is the wrong place to put any kind of
intelligence regarding archive sites and mirrors. This intelligence
belongs in the FTP clients.
Rich Salz
>>References: <j-norstad-030...@norstad.acns.nwu.edu>
>> <macrshap-030...@ipa.bbn.com>
Yes, INN has problems with continued header lines in NOV databases.
/r$
David Messina
P. Ross) wrote:
> Hmm. I just noticed a new bug (NW 2.0b2). When I hit Cmd-right-arrow
> on a line in the editor, it puts the cursor at the end of the current
> line, but the real cursor (ie, not the thing I see) seems to be a
> character ahead. If I backspace, I'll delete the newline, and if I type,
> it will show up at the head of the next line. Anyone else seen this?
I can corroborate this report -- seems to occur when the next line has not
yet been written to, but you've already hit return at the end of the
current line. Sounds confusing, I know; just play around with it and
you'll see. Just a minor nuisance, though, really.
--
David Messina
mes...@mcs.com
Roy Eassa
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> > Hmm. I just noticed a new bug (NW 2.0b2). When I hit Cmd-right-arrow
> > on a line in the editor, it puts the cursor at the end of the current
> > line, but the real cursor (ie, not the thing I see) seems to be a
> > character ahead. If I backspace, I'll delete the newline, and if I type,
> > it will show up at the head of the next line. Anyone else seen this?
>
> You're right. I'll fix it. Sigh.
This may not be a NW problem! I've seen it pop up in a variety of
programs, so it my be in Apple's toolbox.
--
Roy Eassa
r...@tiac.net
John Norstad
> > > Hmm. I just noticed a new bug (NW 2.0b2). When I hit Cmd-right-arrow
> > > on a line in the editor, it puts the cursor at the end of the current
> > > line, but the real cursor (ie, not the thing I see) seems to be a
> > > character ahead. If I backspace, I'll delete the newline, and if I type,
> > > it will show up at the head of the next line. Anyone else seen this?
> >
> > You're right. I'll fix it. Sigh.
>
>
> This may not be a NW problem! I've seen it pop up in a variety of
> programs, so it my be in Apple's toolbox.
No, it's my problem, and I've fixed it in 2.0b3, to be released in a few
minutes.
Well, I fixed this problem. But I hope I didn't break anything else -
hacking TextEdit is dangerous, and I don't recommend it without adult
supervision.
Bob Snyder
>Ah. Thank you very much for the updated NewsWatcher. It feels very
>comp.sys.mac.digest group to get the updated listing of new files at
>Stanford and the University of Michigan, and was wondering if you could
>add support for thier method of listing files?
>
>For example..
>
>[Archived as /info-mac/cfg/auto-clock-144.hqx; 170K]
I have an even better (IMHO, of course. :-) ) idea on implimenting
this. If NewsWatcher supported getting the currently selected text
via Apple Events/AppleScript, it would be trivial to write a script to
use anarchie or such to ftp from the mirror of choice. A feature like
this would be generally useful, although I don't believe NewsWatcher
has AE support yet (or at least, it doesn't have an 'aete' resource).
Combine this with OSA Menu, and it would simply be select an item, and
select your Script mini-menu and choose what you want to do.
Bob
--
Bob Snyder N2KGO MIME, RIPEM mail accepted
snyd...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu finger for RIPEM public key
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.
David Thornewill von Essen
Guess I'm not observant enough, but from where can the newest version be
obtained? Many thanks.
Regards,
David TvE
--
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
David Thornewill von Essen Business Systems Analyst
Motorola ASIC Division I don't speak for Mot.
Chandler, AZ-85224 fax: (602) 814-4451
email: ttg...@email.sps.mot.com tel: (602) 814-4395
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
David C. Doherty
doh...@msc.edu (David C. Doherty) wrote:
>
> ...
> > ferinstance:
> >
> > option clicking on "info-mac/comm/newswatcher2.4.hqx" :)
> >
> > brings up a dialog with an editable text field with the string
> > in it. One could then prepend the "ftp://ftp.mirror.edu/mirrors/"
> > or whatever is needed, then hit OK.
>
> Ugh, I don't want to have to remember addresses, my brain is full enough.
> I would vote for lobbying the developer of an ftp client, say Anarchie or
> Fetch, to add a cooperating feature in the client. Perhaps, if a partial
> ftp URL is passed to it, the client would ask the user to select a site,
> or maybe even allow them to drop the URL onto a bookmark for the site.
> This puts the burden of what needs to be done on the ftp client, where I
> think it belongs.
>
I fully agree with this sentiment.
But the current implementation in NW makes it nearly useless (at least in the
places that I need it): URLs are rarely used (digests, etc.), there is no way
to access a mirror, and there is no way to option click on a what _is_
available
(e.g, a pathname as shown above). Popping up a dialog with a simple editable
text field removes all of these restrictions and makes this feature immensely
(imho) more useful. And it's not that intrusive.
If you don't want to remember anything, and you've already
selected a full URL, all you have to do is hit OK. And you could make
(something like) option-double-click mean just send the ftp request
without the dialog.
I agree that the burden for most of this belongs with the ftp client.
However, for relatively little effort, this feature becomes so much
more flexible.
Dave Doherty
ps. thanks to john for making such useful tools available
John Norstad
snyd...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu (Bob Snyder) wrote:
> I have an even better (IMHO, of course. :-) ) idea on implimenting
> this. If NewsWatcher supported getting the currently selected text
> via Apple Events/AppleScript, it would be trivial to write a script to
> use anarchie or such to ftp from the mirror of choice. A feature like
> this would be generally useful, although I don't believe NewsWatcher
> has AE support yet (or at least, it doesn't have an 'aete' resource).
>
> Combine this with OSA Menu, and it would simply be select an item, and
> select your Script mini-menu and choose what you want to do.
Apple event support in NewsWatcher is on the wish list.
Martin Morgan
> > >
> > > brings up a dialog with an editable text field with the string
>
> Popping up a dialog with a simple editable
> text field removes all of these restrictions and makes this feature immensely
> (imho) more useful.
I like the way NW does it now, really convenient for properly formatted
URLs and also very easy to retrieve referenced articles. Here's my
suggestion to those wanting to make it more complicate: choose 'Reply',
and pretend you're in a giant dialog box. Edit the reference to your
heart's content, and option click it.
Martin
Peter N Lewis
>> option clicking on "info-mac/comm/newswatcher2.4.hqx" :)
>Ugh, I don't want to have to remember addresses, my brain is full enough.
>I would vote for lobbying the developer of an ftp client, say Anarchie or
>Fetch, to add a cooperating feature in the client. Perhaps, if a partial
>ftp URL is passed to it, the client would ask the user to select a site,
>or maybe even allow them to drop the URL onto a bookmark for the site.
>This puts the burden of what needs to be done on the ftp client, where I
>think it belongs.
I already lobied for something like this and was ignored. Of course, you
can paste it in to your download file and use the Download Files
AppleScript that comes with Anarchie, it will figure it out and use your
favorite Info-Mac mirror to fetch the file.
Peter.
_______________________________________________________________________
Peter N Lewis <peter...@info.curtin.edu.au> Ph: +61 9 368 2055
Peter N Lewis
>Perhaps even better: A smart FTP client, when it sees
>"sumex-aim.stanford.edu" as the host part of a URL, could be configured to
>automagically use the "nearest" info-mac archive instead. This, plus the
>use of full URL notation in the info-mac digests, would solve the problem.
The problem with that is it means people go around posting references to
sumex, which all the people without the smart client then proceed to
hammer into the ground.
Peter Timofejew
merk...@phepds.dnet.nasa.gov (Stephen Merkowitz) wrote:
>One problem I have with this is that we need to encourage the use of
>mirrors. When I give a reference to UMich or Sumex, I usually suggest
>that a mirror should be used. If this form of reference is to be
>supported in NewsWatcher I suggest that there be a preference for a
>"favorite mirror". If John decides not to support this type of reference
>how should we give references to files on UMich and Sumex which conform to
>the standards that allow us to use option-click without increasing the
>overload on these servers?
Or better yet: why not use the "round-robin" feature of the later BIND
code, and set up a number of mirrors, world wide, that would have a
pointer stored at Stanford (with a very short expiration time so the next
query would return a new IP address). This way, every time
"sumex-aim.stanford.edu" is looked up, a different IP is returned, with
only one of the addresses actually at Stanford. With "creative" use of
symbolic links on the mirror sites, the same directory structure could be
preserved, without mucking up the mirror's own private directory
structure. There would be no need to hack NewsWatcher (or other such
programs) to support alternate mirror sites.
Peter
--
Peter Timofejew Internet: ptim...@tse.com
Senior Programmer/Analyst Tel: +1 416 947-4752
The Toronto Stock Exchange Fax: +1 416 941-0825
2 First Canadian Place
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Adam Elman
ptim...@tse.com (Peter Timofejew) wrote:
> Or better yet: why not use the "round-robin" feature of the later BIND
> code, and set up a number of mirrors, world wide, that would have a
> pointer stored at Stanford (with a very short expiration time so the next
> query would return a new IP address). This way, every time
> "sumex-aim.stanford.edu" is looked up, a different IP is returned, with
> only one of the addresses actually at Stanford. With "creative" use of
> symbolic links on the mirror sites, the same directory structure could be
> preserved, without mucking up the mirror's own private directory
> structure. There would be no need to hack NewsWatcher (or other such
> programs) to support alternate mirror sites.
>
> Peter
Unfortunately, this doesn't work because the paths to the Info-Mac
archives are different from mirror site to mirror site; what's in
/info-mac on Sumex might be in /mirrors/info-mac on one site,
/pub/mirrors/Mac/info-mac on another, etc. So client software like
Anarchie wouldn't know where to look for the mirror.
Not to mention, of course, that people are probably using
sumex-aim.stanford.edu for purposes other than just the Info-Mac archives
(it is, I believe, a file server for the Knowledge Systems Lab at the
Stanford med school), so something at the DNS lookup level is probably a
bad idea.
Because of these things, mirror sites are really better supported at the
client end than at the server end. Client support makes it a lot more
flexible in terms of file location and path; server support of this kind
would make it more difficult.
Besides, I don't want Sumex to give me the IP address of a server in
Germany when the ones in Hawaii and Iowa are much closer (in fact, Sumex
itself is about a 5-minute bike ride from my room, but nobody can get into
it, even from here. :)...
Later,
Adam
--
Adam Elman | WWW: http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~elmanad/
ael...@cs.stanford.edu | Finger me or check out my Web page for PGP key!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask 'Why me?' Then a voice answers 'Nothing personal, your name just happened to come up.'" -- Peanuts
Craig Richmond
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
>In article <cross-07079...@129.2.90.38>, cr...@eng.umd.edu (Chris
>P. Ross) wrote:
>
>> Well, it sounds like one needs to be added. :-) Who's in charge of
>> putting new things into NNTP...
>
>Nobody is in charge. Sigh.
John lives perpetually in a bitter and twisted state. Every time he
thinks (or quite occassionally knows) he has something right, there are
1/2 a dozen people trying to tell him that he is wrong and that despite
the fact that he wrote the program, that they know better. I know. I'm
often one of them.
Programs run on the internet generally fall into two categories. There
are big packages like X.500 which are built to an ANSI specification which
gets argued and bickered about by dozens of people for years at a time.
They tend to be big, unwieldly and very hard to implement so there aren't
any free implementations or the ones that are just aren't as good as they
might be. The other category is programs that are defined by their
implementation. Examples of this are programs that handle SMTP, Gopher,
DNS, NNTP etc. For each of these protocols, there was one main
implementation when they were originally set up and it was defined by what
was usually a small group of people, often sitting in the same room eating
Pizza as they went. (While probably not accurate, it does make it sound
better) There are RFCs on the protocols, but by and large, when people
want to see if their program does the right thing, they will see if it
does the same thing as the defacto implementation. The defacto news
implementation at this point in time would probably be INN. So if you
wanted to get features put into the news software, you should probably
talk to Rich Salz who writes INN (I think). Along with this, you should
also write an RFC stating why these changes have been made, what benefits
you are getting and a clear consise definition of the protocol relating to
them. Because nobody ever seems to want to do this, it tends not to get
very far very often unless someone working on the defacto implementation
of the day decides that something needs to be done.
Anyone can write an RFC.
Anyone can write a server.
Any good implementation can become the defacto implementation.
John writes client software.
Every time a new NNTP server gets written, John gets depressed because it
has its own bells and whistles that Newswatcher refuses to work with
because the implementor decided that they knew better than the RFC (or
defacto implementation)
The flavour of the moment would be that if you want something put into
NNTP, then you should talk to the people who write INN which everyone
runs. Then with luck within a year or two most sites will have upgraded
to support the latest release and people will have access to the feature.
Share and Enjoy,
Craig
All of the above is in my opinion only and probably doesn't bear any
resemblance to the real world.
--
Craig Richmond, Computer Officer, ECEL Computing Services +61 9 380 1405
The University of Western Australia or 380 3860 Email for FAX Number
cr...@ecel.uwa.edu.au Dvorak Keyboards RULE! "Messes are only acceptable
if users make them. Applications aren't allowed this freedom" I.M.VI 2-4
bob pasker
j-no...@nwu.edu (John Norstad) wrote:
> Sometimes the volume of mail and news does get me down a little bit (500
> mail messages alone just about NewsWatcher since last Sunday, not counting
> all the postings!). I am often curt in my responses to this mail and news,
> especially when I find myself answering the same questions over and over
> again.
does it make sense, john, to enlist some c.s.m.c folks into a SWAT team to
handle the RTFM queries during critical release times?
--
-- bob pasker
-- r...@brown.edu
--
John Norstad
cr...@ecel.uwa.edu.au (Craig Richmond) wrote:
> John lives perpetually in a bitter and twisted state. Every time he
> thinks (or quite occassionally knows) he has something right, there are
> 1/2 a dozen people trying to tell him that he is wrong and that despite
> the fact that he wrote the program, that they know better. I know. I'm
> often one of them.
For the record, not true! In fact, right now I'm very pleased that people
seem to like the new version of NewsWatcher. I'm also for the most part
having a great time corresponding with all the new beta users about error
reports and suggestions for making the new features better.
Sometimes the volume of mail and news does get me down a little bit (500
mail messages alone just about NewsWatcher since last Sunday, not counting
all the postings!). I am often curt in my responses to this mail and news,
especially when I find myself answering the same questions over and over
again. I also get annoyed when people write to me or post with questions
or complaints when they clearly haven't even glanced at the user doc.
Sorry about that. It's hard to avoid it.
Steve Dorner coined an aphorism which I should have embroidered and put
over my desk: "When dealing with people on the net, you need two things: a
civil tongue, and a thick skin." This is excellent advice for all of us.
It's a quiet Sunday at home today. I seem to be caught up on the error
reports for 2.0b4, and I hope to spend most of the day tuning some of the
new features based on feedback from the beta users. This includes a few
new preferences I hope you will find useful.
D. Michael Basinger
r...@brown.edu (bob pasker) wrote:
Maybe it is time to compile a FAQ for NewsWatcher. If John and other
people think it is a good idea, I would would volunteer to compile it.
mike
--
D. Michael Basinger: "Not speaking for I.U. or the School of HPER"
Computer Specialist dbas...@indiana.edu (Binhex & MIME Accepted)
School of HPER dbas...@nations.ucs.indiana.edu (NeXT Mail)
Indiana University Phone: (812) 855-1562 Fax: (812) 855-4983
Thomas Reed
C. Doherty) wrote:
>But the current implementation in NW makes it nearly useless (at least in the
>places that I need it): URLs are rarely used
Well this item in particular is HARDLY the fault of the authors. It's OUR
fault. Up until NewsWatcher 2.0b1 came out, I had been using Nuntius for
news, and I didn't really know about URL's since they didn't concern me.
Now I know, and if I'd known how easy it is to write a URL, I'd have done
it back when I was using Nuntius.
We should try to push people to start using URL's instead of more vague
references. We should also try to push people to also post the URL's for
a couple mirrors if they're going to post that something's on Sumex or
UMich. I, for one, intend to post the URL of my favorite mirror,
WUarchive.
-Thomas
=====================================================
Thomas Reed Washington University
re...@telesphere.wustl.edu Medical School
re...@medicine.wustl.edu Saint Louis, MO
-----------------------------------------------------
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no
influence on society. -- Mark Twain
=====================================================
Opinions posted are not the opinions of Wash. U.
John Norstad
C. Doherty) wrote:
> The point is: wouldn't giving people the ability to simply edit the URL
> be a more flexible solution than posting ad hoc URLs that may be good for
> some, but not for others?
Editing URLs is easy. Just drag it to a message window (or copy and paste
it), edit it, and option-click it.