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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Proposal for posable exteded WIFI BBS function.
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| mclout999 Guru  Joined: 05/07/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 430 |
Now that we have a standard for the ESP01 what about an extension to provide Internet Bulletin board access as a way to extend the community and distribution of software directly onto the CMM2. Though web browsing would be rather difficult to implement, a BBS system would be a wonderful way to get the CMM2 online directly. I never wrote a BBS system but I did run a Fidonet node back in the day before the Internet. We had email file sharing, and forums. How hard would that be to develop for the CMM2? The Spectrum next has gone that route. It also seems in sync with the reto vibe of the CMM2. I would love to fire up my system and hit the BBS and see what was happening on the CMM2 scene and XMODEM down the newest community offerings. I wish I had the expertise that many here have to undertake the project but I am at most a tinkerer. I just thought this might be a nice addition and wanted to see what other thought about it. Thanks. |
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thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 3846 |
I may misunderstand you, but if you are talking about a BBS client then I think we already have at least two (though I'm not sure about download facilities). The one that has been posted about most recently is Maxiterm. Best wishes, Tom Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| mclout999 Guru Joined: 05/07/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 430 |
Yes, I know about Maxiterm but I guess we need the BBS part to be developed. I missed the whole thread about it being able to use the WIFI now. Very cool. thanks, I will go to that thread and ask how to connect to some internet BBSs. I suppose that I should have just asked about the development of a community BBS. Wait. I think that Maxiterm requires his custom firmware to be running on the ESP01 and that is not optimal for other things, or is it. Can that firmware also support the standard AT+ command set firmware? I have finally got the example code for the beta working. I do not think I want to have to flash the firmware on the ESP01 every time I need to use it for different things. NO, I was thinking of the custom firmware for the NC file manager, my bad. Edited 2021-08-13 11:59 by mclout999 |
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| frnno967 Senior Member  Joined: 02/10/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 104 |
The idea of someone writing a CMM2-based BBS system has come up many times here and on the Facebook group and a few people have expressed interest in writing such a program. I've only concerned myself with the client side of this with Maxiterm, believing that there are many great modern options for the host side with Synchronet and other packages out there. And there's already enough bugs and features to work on with Maxiterm's file transfer support so I didn't want to be fighting a moving target by writing both the BBS and the Terminal program at the same time. But you have brought up an excellent point which has been considered recently, namely now that GEN 2 has on-board ESP-01 support this should be the perfect time to complete the ecosystem and have Maxiterm support one common AT command platform. Once the semiconductor shortages abate I plan to buy a GEN 2 and start development on this. Ideally, someone would purchase a CMM2 and their experience would go like this: 1.Unbox CMM2 with a pre-installed ESP-01 and SD card with Maxiterm and other programs like Welcome Tape. 2.Use Maxiterm to set SSID, Password to get their Wifi network connected. 3.Use Maxiterm autodialer to dial a CMM2-specific BBS and create an account. 4.Download software of the user's choosing, similar to cmm2.fun, and engage in chats and online games with the community. We could even use the CMM2-specific archive format that was posted on here integrated with the NC file manager. The above scenario has been my goal all along because it enables the CMM2 to be standalone without needing another nearby computer, and it keeps the user on the CMM2 while engaging with the community just like the "old days" of retro-computing. Jay Crutti: Ham Radio Operator, K5JCJ. Computer Enthusiast. Musician. Engineer. |
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lew247 Guru Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1676 |
I used to love BBS's back in the day but what is the point these days when it's simple to send emails, you have the facebook groups for group messages and other means as well This forum for posting ideas/thoughts/discussions There are also the original usenet newsgroups that are still up and running and brilliant and do many of the same features as a bbs and it's much easier to put files to one of the many online free hosting sites where they can be downloaded simply, freely and at much greater speed than most people who while capable of hosting a bbs wouldn't have that kind of speed to send the files to people as quickly Edited 2021-08-13 17:49 by lew247 |
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| mclout999 Guru Joined: 05/07/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 430 |
My intent was to discuss a reasonably achievable online experience ON THE CMM2 directly. I would like for us to be able to just fire up our CMM2s and hit a BBS through our new standardized WIFI access. It would be so nice and nostalgic to have the community online on their systems directly. That was my point. |
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| frnno967 Senior Member Joined: 02/10/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 104 |
Yes, I feel as this is making a different point. No one can argue that regular PC computers are powerful and have solved all of these issues long ago. The point is more about the experience and the community around a machine. For me it's distracting and annoying to have to constantly switch back and forth between the CMM2 and the modern PC. When I'm using the CMM2, I get inspired and want to spend lots of time on it and have fun. The more it can keep me engaged on the actual CMM2, the better. Others are probably the same way. Jay Crutti: Ham Radio Operator, K5JCJ. Computer Enthusiast. Musician. Engineer. |
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| danielkos Newbie  Joined: 10/07/2021 Location: AustraliaPosts: 25 |
Don't forget about Gopher! The world of text-based hyperspace is still around! Personally I think I'm happier not having my CMM2 connected to the internet. It just feels... better. (But I've been called a Luddite before, too!) |
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