[spryguy]

I am a two week old switcher trying to find a good terminal emulator program for OS X. I dial in to a remote switch requiring VT100-VT52 terminal emulation.

Does anyone have any good recommendations? I did a search and downloaded a program called Zterm, but I don't see all the options I need (use to) and I cannot seem to get a break response.

Thanks!

[CharlesS]

A quick VersionTracker search turned up these:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17484

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15635

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15091

Can't vouch for any of them, though, as I haven't used a terminal emulator since the mid-90's.

edit: here's some more:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9622

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/8453

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9623

Edit 2: after looking at all of those links I posted, it appears only one of them does what you really want it to do, and it sucks ass! Sorry about that, I guess terminal emulators really aren't the rage anymore... What options exactly does ZTerm lack that you need? I remember ZTerm as being a pretty good program.

[CharlesS]

I found a UNIX terminal program that might be good. Unfortunately, you will probably need to use fink to install it, so that's a bit of a pain.

http://freshmeat.net/projects/minicom/?topic_id=20

[CharlesS]

If you don't mind running in the Classic environment, there are a bunch of older terminal programs here:

http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/Hype...erArchive.html

I remember people telling me that Black Night was pretty good back in the day, but since I never used it I can't vouch for it one way or another...

[Arkham_c]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
If you don't mind running in the Classic environment, there are a bunch of older terminal programs here:

http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/Hype...erArchive.html

I remember people telling me that Black Night was pretty good back in the day, but since I never used it I can't vouch for it one way or another...

I thought it was "White Knight". Oh the days of PCBOARD!

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
I thought it was "White Knight". Oh the days of PCBOARD!

Wasn't White Knight commercial, though? Black Night was shareware.

[CharlesS]

Here's another Classic terminal app that has pretty good reviews on VersionTracker:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macos/2196

[WJMoore]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
I found a UNIX terminal program that might be good. Unfortunately, you will probably need to use fink to install it, so that's a bit of a pain.

http://freshmeat.net/projects/minicom/?topic_id=20

Yeah minicom is very popular with Linux users and does a good job too.

[ryaxnb]

AppleWorks 5, if you can acquire it (or already have it,) has a Terminal emulation module.

[joe]

Originally posted by spryguy:
I am a two week old switcher trying to find a good terminal emulator program for OS X. I dial in to a remote switch requiring VT100-VT52 terminal emulation.

Does anyone have any good recommendations? I did a search and downloaded a program called Zterm, but I don't see all the options I need (use to) and I cannot seem to get a break response.

I posted a similar question here a couple of weeks ago. After several helpful suggestions (and a lot of research) there seems to be 3 catagories of VT100 emulators for Mac:
- Shareware that supports mapping the pF keys but lacks a dialer. Handy if you don't need dial up access (I do).
- Shareware that includes a dialer but doesn't support mapping the pF keys (I need pF1-pF4 keys mapped).
- Commerical apps costing $100+ that fully support mapping the pF keys AND dialup access. These actually contain much more emulators than just VT52/100 which is why they command a higher price. But all I really want/need is VT100

As it turns out, I had to buy Microsoft Office v.X Mac for work anyway. So in my case I decided to pay a bit more and bought Office Mac PE ($479) which includes Office v.X, Virtual PC with XPpro (and HyperTerminal), and some other extras I don't recall offhand. I also have to run some proprietary PC-only software so VPC was useful otherwise. And the price diff was almost the same as paying for the fully functional VT100 emulators. So far VPC has worked for every app I've needed - albeit slowly. But for Hyperterminal, it barely seems slower than running on a real PC. I realize this isn't the ideal solution. But I'm also a switcher and have used dialup VT100 at work for years. So far there doesn't seem to be anything like HyperTerminal available for OSX (ie cheap AND fully functional). Hopefully as more switchers come onboard and ask about HyperTerm things will improve. Until then you're either going to pay full price or pay for VPC/HyperTerm. Well - unless you can get by without pF keys or dialup.......joe

[Tsilou B.]

Originally posted by joe:
I posted a similar question here a couple of weeks ago. After several helpful suggestions (and a lot of research) there seems to be 3 catagories of VT100 emulators for Mac:
- Shareware that supports mapping the pF keys but lacks a dialer. Handy if you don't need dial up access (I do).
- Shareware that includes a dialer but doesn't support mapping the pF keys (I need pF1-pF4 keys mapped).
- Commerical apps costing $100+ that fully support mapping the pF keys AND dialup access. These actually contain much more emulators than just VT52/100 which is why they command a higher price. But all I really want/need is VT100

I'm absolutely sure that another possibility is to use X11 with some open source X11-based terminal, e.g. minicom.

[Dr_Doom]

I do a lot of router configuration. I prefer ZTerm with a Keyspan Highspeed USB adapter.

It is very reliable and I haven't had a problem with it.

Cheers,

Dr_Doom

[joe]

Originally posted by Tsilou B.:
I'm absolutely sure that another possibility is to use X11 with some open source X11-based terminal, e.g. minicom.

Where can I find minicom? Does it map the pF keys and suport dialup?

[spryguy]

Thanks for all you post. I have been playing with a few Charles suggested. I just cant seem to get the correct configurations.

Joe, I may just have to save up and pick the same, however it does suck to buy that huge package just for something as simple as an dial-up terminal emulator.

I must say the forum members are very helpful! 12 post with explanations! You guys rule.

By the way, I am enjoying my new iBook. I just need to learn how to fully use {unleash} the power.

DJ

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by spryguy:
Joe, I may just have to save up and pick the same, however it does suck to buy that huge package just for something as simple as an dial-up terminal emulator.

You may want to try using fink to install the UNIX terminal program I suggested earlier, minicom. Whatever the open-source movement's other faults, their software usually gives you lots of options. From the sound of things, lots of people here have used minicom, and are saying it's good...

[Some Guy []]

zterm is pretty old and nasty looking, but it mostly works... if it doesn't have enough options for you i'd recommend getting minicom.

i've used both quite a bit to connect to switches and routers.


-justin

[joe]

Originally posted by spryguy:
Joe, I may just have to save up and pick the same, however it does suck to buy that huge package just for something as simple as an dial-up terminal emulator.

I agree. But in my case I also have to run some proprietary apps. I'm actually replacing a 450Mhz Win98 notebook with my new 15" AlBook at work. And this is the ONLY Mac in the place. Our IT dept didn't nix the purchase but I'm pretty much on my own.

BTW, if you check the prices you'll find the standalone version of VPC are more than double the price diff buying OfficePE vs Office v.x. And Office PE includes the more expensive XPpro instead of XPhome. So if you need Office you save a lot of money going with OfficePE vs Office v.x. Like most places we use Office so it was a no-brainer getting them to spring for PE. However, if you don't need Office you are almost certainly better off going with one of the shareware or commercial VT100 emulators instead.

[joe]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
You may want to try using fink to install the UNIX terminal program I suggested earlier, minicom. Whatever the open-source movement's other faults, their software usually gives you lots of options. From the sound of things, lots of people here have used minicom, and are saying it's good...

I'm not faulting open-source. I'd love to try fink I'm just not familiar with how to set it up and get it working. I just found fink 0.6.2 on versiontracker but it's19megs. Is minicom part of that archive? Also, does minicom support BOTH dialup and mapping the pF keys?