I'm not sure you're right about that, since I used Mosaic with some other
(non-TRUMPET) WINSOCK that I'd snagged. Further, the Netcruiser that was
supplied by Netcom didn't require a third-party WINSOCK, though it was tricky
(trickier than I could manage) to use it with other browsers. There were a
couple of third-party WINSOCK modules that one could download on a trial
basis, and I lived on those up to the point at which MS released Win95's
WINSOCK. Making one work with Win32S was not trivial, since they didn't all
do that.
The ICOMM software went a long way if you had only shell access, though. I
provided the appearance of a graphical browser, though it did that by using
shell-accessible features at the ISP, though it ran the graphical stuff
locally, thereby giving the appearance of a graphical browser. It didn't need
a WINSOCK, since it ran the IP stack at the ISP end.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tothwolf" <tothwolf(a)concentric.net>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 11:50 PM
Subject: Re: Netscape (was Re: PayPal = payola?)
On Fri, 25 Jan 2002, Ethan Dicks wrote:
> --- Bryan Pope <bpope(a)wordstock.com> wrote:
> > And thusly Richard Erlacher spake:
> > >
> > > When Netscape was released, it required a third-party "WINSOCK"
module
> > > that one had to buy from someone, normally "Trumpet" and that
P*SSED
me
off, since
I'd previously been able to work with a free version.
Trumpet WinSock was needed with Windows 3.1 because it did not have a
TCP/IP stack.
Exactly. MicroSloth didn't provide an IP stack for Winblows until
"Windows for Workgroups" and even then, it wasn't loaded automatically;
you had to go out and download it from MS seperately (but it was free,
providing you knew to go out and look for it).
You had to go out and get a Winsock no matter what browser or ftp or
telnet client you wanted to use. Either way, though, it was still
better than the options under DOS. It's why I always used something
else as a last hop to the outside.
I installed Trumpet on a number of Win3.1 machines at McMurdo Station
in 1995, back when Netscape still had a "Throbbing N". Before that,
we used Mosaic. Eventually, we went with WfW 3.11 and the MS TCP/32
"upgrade". It wasn't great, but it was free.
MS TCP/IP32 still did not add support for dialup connections. Its winsock
only supported a local network. For a windows 3.x machine, Trumpet
basically was the only choice if you wanted to use a modem to connect to
an isp.
-Toth