Lesson plan

ProTERM

ProTERM is a terminal emulator and modem program for the Apple II and Macintosh lines of personal computers, published by Intrec Software. Most popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, it was most commonly used for calling bulletin board systems (BBSes) via a computer's modem, experienced users could also Telnet into Unix server and shell account thereon and FTP and tunneling to various destinations therefrom, and once logged into a Unix shell account, other forms of telecom all across the pre-Web Internet; via VT100 terminal emulator or ANSI art, this later ushered in Graphics to the scene. The macro Language automated a lot of this process and the ProTERM user could code macros to log in and perform Unix functions in Bash or Bourne shell making this a very powerful terminal emulator, capable of manipulating mainframes and "hacking" into the heart of the internet at low and high levels. ProTERM was rich in features such as an extensive "scrollback" buffer limited only by the computer's memory, an optional mouse-based interface in the Apple II version (standard on the Mac), an easy-to-use and very powerful text editor, auto learning macros, and a variety of terminal emulations such as VT100, ANSI and the powerful but proprietary "ProTERM Special Emulation" (also referred to as: PSE or PTSE) which used Apple's semi graphical MouseText character set.…

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Article summary

ProTERM is a terminal emulator and modem program for the Apple II and Macintosh lines of personal computers, published by Intrec Software. Most popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, it was most commonly used for calling bulletin board systems (BBSes) via a computer's modem, experienced users could also Telnet into Unix server and shell account thereon and FTP and tunneling to various destinations therefrom, and once logged into a Unix shell account, other forms of telecom all across the pre-Web Internet; via VT100 terminal emulator or ANSI art, this later ushered in Graphics to the scene. The macro Language automated a lot of this process and the ProTERM user could code macros to log in and perform Unix functions in Bash or Bourne shell making this a very powerful terminal emulator, capable of manipulating mainframes and "hacking" into the heart of the internet at low and high levels. ProTERM was rich in features such as an extensive "scrollback" buffer limited only by the computer's memory, an optional mouse-based interface in the Apple II version (standard on the Mac), an easy-to-use and very powerful text editor, auto learning macros, and a variety of terminal emulations such as VT100, ANSI and the powerful but proprietary "ProTERM Special Emulation" (also referred to as: PSE or PTSE) which used Apple's semi graphical MouseText character set.…

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.