
DataCom Shareware Review

RIPterm

RIPterm is not like other communications programs.  On the surface it seems
to be typical of a recent trend to make DOS applications look like Windows
applications.  It appears to be an otherwise conventional terminal program
that just happens to look like a hybrid between America Online's proprietary
terminal software and the slightly renowned ROBOTERM.

Beneath RIPterm's sharp graphics and colorful icons lies a concept that is
anything but conventional.  The Remote Imaaging Protocol (RIP), from which
RIPterm derives its name, is a protocol under which graphics information is
conveyed between a BBS caller's computer and the host or BBS computer.  By
clicking on an icon or a button the caller causes the program to generate a
text string commanding the BBS or host system to do whatever the icon or
button represents.  But the icons and buttons can also receive commands from
the far end which can reprogram, move, or redefine them, producing a live
two-way interaction with the remote computer.  To maximize this type of
interactivity the BBS software at the far end must be capable of supporting
RIP.  However, RIPterm will interact conventionally with BBS software that
does not support RIP, and will then look like a rather ordinary terminal
program that just happens to do its screen writes in graphics mode.  It is
reported that several producers of BBS software are working on the addition of
RIP support to their products, and that some producers of end-user
communications software are planning upgrades that will include RIP emulation.

Installation of RIPterm is a piece of cake PROVIDED the installation is
performed using the stand-alone archive containing the current version (v1.53).
My first experience with RIPterm involved installing v1.52 from its archive,
and then applying an upgrade patch which was downloaded as a separate file.
Although the patch worked, applying it took so long that I wondered several
times if something had gone wrong and caused my computer to hang.  Also the
"upgraded" version did not detect my mouse on COM1 and assumed that the modem
was there.  The result was that I lost both the mouse and the modem until I
figured out how to navigate the setup screens without a mouse.  So my advice
is to download v1.53 if you can.  If all that is available is v1.52 and the
upgrade patch, forget the patch and settle for v1.52, then ditch v1.52
altogether and start fresh when you find v1.53.

Once it is installed, RIPterm is easy to set up, since the setup process does
not differ much from that of conventional terminal programs like Telix,
ProComm, or QModem.  What does seem nonstandard is the large number of options
available from the pull-down menu system.

Using RIPterm to call "traditional"  BBS's simple and straightforward.  Just
about everything seemed to work as expected except that two files I downloaded
were placed in a subdirectory other than the one I had specified as the
default.  in order to have something to write about RIPterm's graphics
features I tried calling one of the Demo BBS's listed in the help file.  I
connected easily enough, but was then greeted by a screen full of nonsense
that seemed to be RIPterm scripts.  I then proceeded to log on, but was unable
to complete the process because the BBS's editor had deleted part of my name
and I was unable to get back to the top line to make corrections.  Nor was I
able to back out of the process in any way short of exiting the program.

RIPterm's online help system is complete and easy to use.  The printed
documentation is adequate and well written, although it could profit from the
addition of either a table of contents or an index or both.  To the author's
credit, I greatly appreciate the fact that the docs are not particularly
lengthy, unlike those that accompany many conventional terminal programs.

The concept behind RIPterm is excellent.  But at this point it needs a lot of
further develpoment to make it ready for wide acceptance.  I suspect the
developers know this, and that it is the reason behind RIPterm being freeware.
For anyone who has the time and energy to experiment, that's just fine.  As
for me, the software is going to have to get a lot better before I'm ready to
abandon my registered copy of Telemate for it.

RIPterm v1.53 Filename:  RIPTM153.ZIP
Registration Fee:  None
TeleGrafix Communications, Inc.
16458 Bolsa Chica, #15
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Voice:  (714) 379-2131
BBS  :  (714) 379-2133 
