Caught in the net.

Compunet enthusiast Graham Edkins brings you up-to-date on the Commodore network's latest features, with some good news for BBC owners, too.

Compunet, for those of you who have not come across it yet, is an on-line network, which can be accessed by Commodore 64/128 owners with the specially designed Commodore modem. The plug-in modem has auto dial & text editor built in and it also acts as a protection toggle on downloadable commercial software. The online code is automatically downloaded into the modem on your first connection or if any upgraded have been made. This can then be saved off for future use.

Once you are connected you are faced with a service that has a vast array of commercial software all of which can be saved to tape or disc, an on-line shopping arena, an E-mail service which can allow text up to 8K to be sent to up to five people at once, the multi user game MUD and a chatline called Partyline which I have yet to see bettered in the UK. Everything else that you see, the graphics, advice areas, Sigs, demos, programs, magazines and news areas (except Cnet news) is 'by the users - for the users'. It's this fact that contributes most to Compunet's appeal.

The news and, for that matter the main talking point, on Compunet is that it is planning to have a new mainframe. Since its creation in 1984 a recurring problem has been that of speed and another of capacity. A major cause of these problems has been that up until now it has run on a network of Dec 10's which were not designed for this type of network. The new mainframe which is due next year is specifically designed for the needs of this system with the aim of a faster service and an opportunity to expand.

Expansion of the system is indeed planned and Compunet is to give access to the BBC micro once the new mainframe is up and running. Allowing a new computer online is not as easy as it sounds, since a ROM has had to be made and tested. The BBC ROM will plug into any standard modem but a disc drive will also be needed for temporary memory storage.

Once online there will be no segregation of the two micros except for machine specific areas. The mainframe will know which micro you are using and so prevent you downloading software designed for the other. BBC micros have for a long time been praised for their graphic capabilities and graphics are one of Compunet's specialities.

There are hundreds of hi-res graphics demos on the system which can be downloaded for free; most of these are quite simply stunning and some of the artists have gone on to produce title screens, etc, for software houses. Part of the fun is finding these gems but to help you, major art areas can be reached with the use of Alpha Gotos, i.e., select GOTO and type ART or ARTH. Some of the more notable uploads are in the form of demos, GOTO 'DEMOS' and 'DEM' 1 to 10. 'DEMOH' has some great stuff; AM12's Mechanix (Press any key) & Working 64 (Watch top left) at 202024 both have music by Rob Hubbard. Also in the area there are the 'Mad Arabs' with a demo called Phantasmagoria at page 207007 and Sir's Transputer demo at 206850.

Compunet also boasts the ability to run programs on-line. Some examples of this are in 'Action', the best of which are Electronic Dreams (MACH81) at 186465, Hendrix at 210907 from ARC86 but there are many more.

Demos of games are also well covered, one of the better know uploaders is the games programmer Jeff Minter. His demos can be downloaded free from 206835 and include Made in France which is a game in itself and Taurus II a moving graphic. Jeff Minter was told by some USA, visitors to the recent Commodore Show that they had not seen his games but they had seen the demos!

Computer musicians also have major areas on Compunet and similarly can go on to get commisions from software houses. The place to look is MUSICH where you will find, amongst many other uploads, Mozart and Phantoms from Rob Hubbard (GOTO ROB) . The Good GOTOS Guide JMS4 on page 207857 lists over 100 utilities available on Compunet, and many of these are free. It will be no surprise therefore that in 18 months, I have amassed over 40 discs full of free downloads from the system.

If you are not yet online you may like to know that Compunet has produced a demo disc which is available from them for £1.99 . The demos have proved so popular that Cnet have even received a request from the Australian online service Viatel for some of them to be uploaded there.

To close, a couple of things that are to come up on Cnet are Debateline which is a kind of long upload 'chatline' with a serious edge and a new version of the online code which will 'beep' at the end of an up/download.

Your response, comment or questions are welcomed, via EMAIL to me at Telecom Gold 72:MAG60070, Prestel 213739079 or Compunet GE81.

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