Hello
I used to run a dial-in BBS years ago prior to the widespread Internet we now have. When a 1200 baud modem was a huge leap. Local access, light use, simple, effective for a small group. Could have been used widely but mine just wasnt. It was on a Mac back in System 7 days, but I had it configured and running in about an hour and it was functional from then on. Extremely useful for some projects a few guys worked on. Required zero effort after initial simple setup.
Why cant we do that now?
It baffles me that nobody seeks to see how simple something can be done. It seems the goal is to make it as complex as possible. Not always the right goal, too complex, complexity leads to breakage.
?
When we had the operating system AND your application(s) running on one floppy disc people were doing very amazing things with very little overhead.?
I am not a programmer. I am an electronics troubleshooter working on industrial machines. I have a life and dont want to be consumed by screwing around with computers on my off time because I really dont have any off-time.?
I dont want to invent the wheel, I want to roll it. But I just want a basic wheel, not a wheel with the space shuttle attached.
I want to setup something similar to my old BBS for my small community. I have a cheap, new, Dell 64 bit laptop.
Im not interested in entertaining kids. Im not interested in getting it on the 'net. Im trying to provide a way for fairly small group of adults to get info in a work-related type of scenario. Imagine a neighborhood watch/rural area group that includes firefighters, people checking on old folks, etc
I spent an hour puzzling over bpq32.
- No closer to having even a slightly remote idea of how to make this work than I was prior to starting. I'll say I'm a Mac guy and if you're a Mac guy and have read through the setup stuff on any of the BBS applications it is mystifying. Not criticizing, just saying there's nothing obvious about how to make a windows box do stuff.?
Tried mystic. Wouldnt load.
Tried synchonous (or similar name). Wouldnt load.
I dont see this jacking around with overly complex software as an effective use of time, no matter how great the end result may be.
Can the following be done?
(Think of a cork bulletin board in a hallway at water cooler, back when we used pencils and 3x5 index cards to plan projects, where various people cross the path but dont actually see each other. This was the original idea of a BBS. But now implementation too complex, unwieldy.)
Intended for very local use.
Connect over radio using simple software. No use of internet or cell network. Could be vhf or hf. Could be GMRS (setting aside regulations for sake of this discussion).
Goals:
Regular non-tech people able to view simple, short posting of news about a given topic, say a power outage or lack of cell service, or a job several different guys are working on. Short and fast because its just data, no overhead of color and video and windows and zephyrs blowing in the corners and stuff.?
Able to respond with update about your status. Could be written text, could be a series of questions. Could be as simple as "all ok here".
Anyone logging in can view entire posting.
Extremely simple -- no games or entertainment.
All users are trusted and wont try to "hack the system."
Essentially just a running text message window, with ability to have different postings as topics, or simply a page per day or similar.
An absolutely minimalist setup, easy to install and make work.
Dont care about color or any other whizbang features. If you ever saw an old fido-net bbs very similar idea. Like DOS in appearance. Not "elegant." Pure function. A log cabin with a candle, no draperies or tablecloth. Dark ages.
Can this be actually done so that a person who is not a programmer can install and run on an extra cheap computer or tablet? Computer should be a modern model, not requiring a man to find an old xp or similar. Just buy a cheap laptop and install software, attach to radio, and leave it running.
Is bpq32 capable of this? Id think so but dont really know. Not willing to spend what appears to be hours figuring it out.
Alternatively, is anybody willing to do a setup like I describe for others?
Any ideas?
Is it possible for the current brainpower to replicate what was done in 1989?
Thanks to anyone who gets what Im saying.
DC
