What is Mac RUNfree?

Mac RUNfree is a collection of public domain or "free for higher education" Internet access software for the Macintosh. It's also an installation program that copies and configures the software. Mac RUNfree makes it easy to set up your Mac to access the Internet from home or office so you can be "Surfing the Web" and "doing e-mail" in practically no time!

How does it work?

The key feature of Mac RUNfree is FreePPP, the program that makes it possible to use your Mac, a high speed modem, and a telephone line to establish a PPP connection (a temporary "virtual network connection"). Once the PPP connection is established, you can use a web browser such as Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer, any IMAP (or POP3) e-mail program, or any other Internet access program such as Telnet, Fetch (FTP), or a network news reader.

What Software is Included?

After you have installed Mac RUNfree look in the folder called "Internet Applications" on your hard disk to find:

• FreePPP version 2.5v3 - Used to establish a PPP (or virtual network) connection via modem and phone line.
  
  
• Netscape Communicator/Navigator - Version 2.02 is included in the "RUNFree" primary install. - Version 4.7 is included on the CD as a separate install. - Netscape is used for three functions on the Internet
• a World Wide Web browser for visiting Web sites.
  
  
• a Network News reader, for reading and posting bulletins to any of the 10,000 net news discussion groups.
  
  
• an e-mail program for sending and reading e-mail.
  Netscape version 4 supports both the old POP3 and the new IMAP protocols.
  
  
• NCSA Telnet version 2.6 - Used to connect to remote computers such as RCI or Eden to run remote host e-mail such as pine.
  
  
• Fetch (FTP) version 3.0.3 - for transferring files between your Macintosh and a remote computer such as RCI or Eden.
  
  
• Stuffit Expander version 5.5 - for decompressing and decoding files downloaded from the Internet.

System Requirements

• any Macintosh running system 7.6.1 or higher
  
  
• a high speed modem (28.8k bps or higher)
  
  
• about 7.1 megabytes of disk space for the initial RUNfree plus about 13 megabytes for the latest version of Netscape
  
  
• at least 16 megabytes of RAM, 32mb recommended
  
  
• a valid computing account on either the RCI or Eden systems

Obtaining Mac RUNfree

The current version of Mac RUNfree is available on CD ROM and may be purchased from the OIT/NBCS Help Desk, located in 005 Hill Center, Busch Campus (732) 445-HELP. The cost is $5, payable by check to Rutgers University.

You may also download Mac RUNfree from the following page at no cost. However, it has Netscape version 2.02 but not version 4.7.

• Students: Download Mac RUNfree for Eden
  
  
• Faculty/Staff: Download Mac RUNfree for RCI

Installing Mac RUNfree

• Place the CD in the drive and open the disk icon. Then open the folder named "Mac RUNfree for Eden" or "Mac RUNfree for RCI" and double click the program named "Install Mac RUNfree for Eden" or "Install Mac RUNfree for RCI" (depending on which system your account is on).
  
  
• The installer will display a nice picture while it's loading.
  
  
• The "Welcome" screen will appear announcing Mac RUNfree. Select "Next".
  
  
• The next screen gives a detailed description of Mac RUNfree. Select "Next".
  
  
• The "Software Installation" screen gives you a choice of an "Easy Install" or "Custom Install". To accept the Easy Install, Select "Next".
  
  
• An " Installing..." warning screen says that other applications must be stopped, Click "OK" to let the installer quit any programs that are running.
  
  
• A status bar will display how much installation has been done.
  
  
• When the "Installing..." screen says "Installation Finished", select "Next".
  
  
• At the "Installation Complete" screen, select "Next".
  
  
• The "Personal Information" screen will prompt you for "User Name:" Type in your real name, e.g. Jimi Hendrix (not your account name) and press the tab key or select the "User Organization" field. Type in your department name or "Rutgers University". These two fields are not critical but they appear in your e-mail "From" field if you use Netscape Mail. Select "Next".
  
  
• The "Account Information" screen will prompt you for your "User ID". Type in your account name ONLY without the @rci or @eden part. Don't hit return but use the tab key or select the "Password:" field and type in your password carefully. Select the "verification" field and type your password a second time. These three fields are important! When they are correct, select "Next".
  
  
• At the "Dialups Number Selection" screen, choose a phone number for the initial setup. You can select other numbers later. Select "Next".
  
  
• At the "Configuration Summary" screen, check your account information. Select "Next" if it's correct or "Back" to make corrections.
  
  
• The "Configuring" Screen asks you to please wait. Wait, then select "Next".
  
  
• At the "Finished" screen select "Restart".
  
  
• The Mac will restart and be ready to establish a connection.
  
  

Establishing a PPP Connection to Access the Internet

Before you can use any TCP/IP application such as Netscape, Telnet or POP e-mail you must establish a network connection. For folks who must use a modem and a phone line to connect to OIT dialup services, that means establishing a PPP connection.

After you have installed Mac RUNfree, a new icon will appear on the upper right side of the system menu bar next to the "balloon help" question mark. It looks like a telephone with a green and blue globe behind it. This icon is a pull-down menu. Select it, pull down to "Open FreePPP Setup" and release. The FreePPP Setup program will start and open a control window. The phone number in the "Connect To" field will be a OIT number in the New Brunswick area. The "From:" field will say "Within the 732 Area". If that's not correct for you then select the field and hold down the mouse button to the appropriate selection, such as "All NB Campuses to NB Dialups". Make sure your modem is turned on and properly connected to your Mac and the phone line. Select the "Connect" button and FreePPP should begin to dial the number. If your modem has a speaker, you can hear the number dial, ring, then be answered with a shrill tone that changes pitch and finally makes a "shhhh" sound and becomes quiet as the connection is established.

When you are done using your PPP connection, disconnect by going back to that telephone icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Pull down the menu under that icon and select the "Disconnect" option.

If you prefer, you can just launch any TCP/IP program (Netscape, Telnet, etc.). When you do this FreePPP will automatically open a connection. However, for your first try and when experiencing problems you should open a connection explicitly.

Running Netscape

To start Netscape, open the "Internet Applications Folder", open the Netscape folder, then launch Netscape. You might prefer to create an alias for Netscape and put it on the desktop or the Apple Menu Folder or your "Launch Strip" and start Netscape by launching the alias. Note that a PPP connection must be established before Netscape can work from home, either by opening a connection explicitly or via the automatic "Allow applications to open connection" feature in FreePPP.

Electronic Mail

There are two types of e-mail programs that you can use: "remote host" and "POP". (A third type, "IMAP" will be available soon). Both can be used to read the same incoming mail. Which type you use is simply a matter of preference.

Remote Host Mail

Remote host mail programs are run on a remote host computer such as the RCI or Eden. They have the advantage of storing previously read messages in a central location so you can log in from anywhere and read your messages. The disadvantage is that the normal print commands print to central printers, not the local one connected to your computer. To print on a local or private printer, the message must first be saved as a file then downloaded. The remote host mail program on RCI and Eden is Pine. The old zmlite remote host e-mail program is now unsupported; i.e. it's available, but we don't encourage it's use.

To use remote host e-mail, use the NCSA Telnet program that comes with Mac RUNfree to connect to either RCI or Eden and log in. Then give the pine command at the system prompt. For further instructions on using these mailers, refer to the technical documents available at the NBCS Information Center, 128 Hill Center, Busch Campus.

Desktop Mail

Desktop mail programs are run on your Macintosh and are served the mail from a mail server on RCI or Eden; i.e. they receive mail through the old POP server protocol or the newer IMAP method and they send mail through an SMTP server. Desktop mailers have the advantage of a graphical user interface and they can print to your local printer. One disadvantage to POP mail is that your old messages are stored on the Macintosh where they were read and are not available from any other computer. IMAP mail readers can be used to store read messages either in a folder on the remote host or on your macintosh hard drive.

The Desktopmailer included with Mac RUNfree is Netscape and the RUNfree installer will configure it to work with your account. To run it, start Netscape, then pull down the "Communicator" menu to "Netscape Messenger".

Telnet

Telnet is used to establish an interactive connection from your Macintosh to a remote computer system on the Internet. It enables you to log into the remote host and get to the command prompt or for our systems the Unix prompt or menus. You would do this to use a remote host email program or run a program in Unix or to check your disk quota. It requires either a direct Ethernet connection or PPP via modem.

The Telnet program included with Mac RUNfree is NCSA Telnet version 2.6, located in the Internet Applications folder in the subfolder "Telnet & FTP". After starting Telnet, pull down the File menu to the "Open Special" , slide over to the appropriate system name, e.g., RCI or Eden, and then release. A window will open on that host and you will be prompted for a username by "login:". You will then be prompted for "password:"

Advanced PPP Settings and Modifications

After performing the standard installation above:

• The FreePPP Setup program will be set to dial the number you selected during installation. This is set in the "Connect to:" field.
  
  
• It will assume that you are within the 732 area code (formerly 908). This is set in the "From" field.
  
  
• The "account" entry for that phone number will have your username and password in the correct format.
  
  
• The Domain Name Server addresses in MacTCP or TCP/IP will be set correctly for New Brunswick dialups.

Additional Phone Numbers

The FreePPP setup contains entries for several OIT dialup phone numbers including Camden and Newark. The phone numbers included with "MacRUNfree for RCI" can only be used with an RCI account and are labeled "OIT NB, RCI Only". The "Mac RUNfree for Eden" features the other NB phone numbers that may be used with either RCI or Eden. You can select one of these other numbers after installation but you must enter your account name yourself in the format username@rci or username@eden.

FreePPP Setup also contains most combinations of where you might be dialing from, such as "on campus" or "within the 732 area" or "outside the 732 area", etc. This is selected in the "From:" field.

Select a Phone Number

Open the FreePPP Setup program by pulling down the FreePPP menu icon (that telephone icon in the upper right corner of the screen) to "Open FreePPP Setup". You'll need to select both a "connect to" phone number and a "connect from" location. With the advanced "PPP Preferences" file, the "Connect to" selection only contains the last four digits of the phone number, and the "Connect from" selection contains the necessary prefix and area code. For example, if you are calling from New York City to OIT Newark, select the "Connect to" as "OIT Newark" and the "From:" as "Outside the 973 area".

Account and Password for Each New Number

You should record your account and password for each phone number you want to use. Click on the triangle in the lower left corner of the FreePPP setup window so that the settings for "General", "Accounts" and "Locations" are shown. Select Accounts, select the phone number you want to use, then select "Edit...". On the bottom of that window there is a field for "Username". Select it and type in your account name in the following format. For example:

• If your account is jhendrix on RCI then type jhendrix@rci.
  
  
• If your account is jjoplin on Eden then type jjoplin@eden.
  
  
• Then type in your password in the password field and select "OK".
  
  Note: Don't worry, your password is shown only as stars, e.g., "******"

How to Disable Call Waiting

If your phone line has Call Waiting, you need to disable it so that incoming calls don't interrupt your connection. Tone Block is a feature from the local telephone company that you can use to disable your call waiting service for the duration of the current telephone call. Tone Block is activated by dialing a prefix (it's usually *70 so we'll assume this prefix for these instructions) before dialing the number. If you have Call Waiting, the Tone Block feature may come with it as part of a package (i.e., you may already have it), or you may have to order it separately. If you aren't sure if you have Tone Block or if you aren't sure how to use it, call your local telephone service provider for details.

Once you know that you have Tone Block and how to activate it, open FreePPP Setup. Select the small triangle on the lower left of the FreePPP window so that it points down and the setup window displays tabs labeled "General", "Accounts" and "Locations" below. Select "Locations". In the list that appears select the location that you use, then select "Edit...". In the locations edit window select the field labeled "Dial prefix". Be sure to press left arrow before you type anything in so that you don't wipe out the prefix that was already defined; i.e., if the Dial prefix was 445-, then you should insert *70, (including the comma) on the left so that the Dial prefix becomes *70,445- If the Dial prefix is blank then just insert *70.

Behind the Scenes--What is FreePPP doing?

Mac RUNfree was conceived and implemented to make Internet access easier for users. It takes away the headache of configuring your software and allows you to get to work without a lot of hassle. If you are content to let Mac RUNfree take the reins and do these things for you, then you are all set. You don't need to read the rest of this document. If you are interested in the details, i.e., the processes that FreePPP is automating, then read on.

To establish a PPP connection you must set your PPP software to dial the correct number, then when it connects you must "authenticate" or login on the terminal server (assuming you are authenticating using a "terminal window") as follows: When the server prompts you for "Username:" you give your username in the form username@rci for RCI accounts and username@eden for eden accounts, where username is your account name on that host, e.g., jhendrix@rci. Then after authentication, at the terminal server prompt, ">", type ppp default and press enter. After installation, FreePPP is set to:

• dial the latest OIT dialup number within the 732 area code.
  
  
• use PAP protocol ("directly") to automate logging in on the terminal server.
  
  
• give your username as username@rci or username@eden, depending on what you put in the User ID field on the installation screen and which version of Mac RUNfree you installed.
  
  
• give your password that you gave during the installation, which got recorded in the connect script. Don't worry, there are stars, "*****", in the password field so nobody can read it.

FreePPP Setup will start if you try to start a network application before establishing a connection.

Domain Name Server IP Addresses

After the standard installation for Mac RUNfree, the Domain Name Server addresses are correctly set for the area of the phone number you selected, either New Brunswick, Camden or Newark. phone numbers or you want to use a department's private dialup numbers (such as the Cook College dialups for Aesop), you must set the Domain Name Server addresses accordingly.

To inspect these settings, pull down the Apple menu icon to Control Panels. Open the control panel called TCP/IP, (the replacement of MacTCP as of Mac OS 7.5). The section on Name Server Addr. should have the appropriate addresses as follows:

     New Brunswick     128.6.21.63     165.230.36.210
     Newark            Please see http://info.rutgers.edu/Techdir/registry.html
     Camden            Please see http://info.rutgers.edu/Techdir/registry.html
     Cook/Aesop        Call your Cook/Aesop support staff

In all cases the domain is "rutgers.edu"

Mail and News Server Settings

If you have an RCI account, your POP and SMTP servers are email.rci.rutgers.edu and your e-mail address is username@rci.rutgers.edu

If you have an Eden account, your POP and SMTP servers are email.eden.rutgers.edu and your e-mail address is username@eden.rutgers.edu

If you are dialing into a New Brunswick number, your NNTP (news) server is news-nb.rutgers.edu. If you are dialing into Newark, use news-newark.rutgers.edu, and use news-camden.rutgers.edu if you are dialing to Camden.