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Syncterm user guide6/10/2023 (Also, I just kind of randomly like the word “muffin.” It’s a nice-sounding word.) But really, it was a bit of a placeholder name at first. I always liked that name, and was perhaps inspired by it when coming up with a name for a new terminal program. Once upon a time, there was an Apple DOS disk utility program named, rather cryptically, MUFFIN. Long-ago Apple II users will be tickled to learn the reasoning behind the name of this app, a very nice little computing history throwback. Not long into the project, Molly decided to expand the app to support the Mac and iPhone, reusing the core code but developing a custom interface for each device. Finding nothing that fit the bill in the App Store, they decided to set the server project aside and create a client for the iPad that actually worked for BBSing. Fast forward several decades and they were working on a MUD/BBS hybrid server project, and had a desire to use an iPad with its fold-up keyboard as a terminal client. I reached out to Molly to find out what motivated them to create this app in the first place and learned that they got into BBSing in the mid-’80s (like myself), and enjoyed the scene until the internet took over. Another nice touch, for those of us used to using the recent “ WiFi modems” that make BBSing on vintage machines so easy, is the ability to use the Hayes AT command set to connect to a telnet BBS (ex: ). A handy Post-It-Note-type feature lets you apply reminders and other info to a particular BBS session that may be of use online, as well. Additionally, the app offers simulated modem speeds from 110 to 56 000 baud as well as full-speed, file transfers via X/Y/Zmodem protocols, and functioning “modem LEDs” in the title bar. Several “CRT effects” can be enabled to add some real personality to the BBSing experience: CRT curvature, scan lines, warm TV tint, and VIC-II luma bars. Oh, and it’s free.ĭeveloped by Molly Black, MuffinTerm offers several terminal emulation options including full and proper ANSI and PETSCII support (with ATASCII on the way in version 1.2) and several different “video modes,” including MDA (green/amber/white), CGA 40/80, EGA, VGA, and VIC-II NTSC/PAL. So, proper BBSing on the devices that I do have with me most of the time has been a no-go.Ī new terminal program called MuffinTerm has recently appeared in the iOS / iPadOS App Store and the Mac App Store that is specifically designed for telnet BBSing. And, you can just forget about emulation of anything like the Commodore 64’s PETSCII or the Atari 8-bit’s ATASCII character sets. Some have ANSI emulation but lack the extended character sets needed to render the “ ANSI art“-style login screens and menus used by many of the BBSs out there. These work well enough, but I need to have my Mac with me to use them, and of course I often don’t.Ī while back, I spent a considerable amount of time (and money, actually) trying out various enterprise-targeted terminal apps in the iOS / iPadOS App Store that claim to offer some of the emulations I need for proper BBSing, but not a single one of them ever managed to pull it off. Being primarily a Mac user (when it comes to modern systems), I will usually use my MacBook Air and iTerm 2 or, if I need something beyond VT100 emulation, SyncTerm to login.
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