I have Max OS 8.x, are there
any special settings for me?
If you
are running Mac OS version 8 or higher, it comes with
everything needed to get on the Internet. (Netscape 3
and an Internet Setup Assistant)
Double-Click
the Hard Drive icon on your Desktop. Double-Click the
Assistants Folder. Double-Click on the Internet Setup
Assistant to setup a new connection. Click on the
Update Button. Click the Next Page arrow. Select Add
Internet Configuration, then click the Next Page
arrow. Enter a connection name, E.g., Comcation or
ComCAT, and make sure the Connection Type has Modem
selected. Click the Next Page arrow. Enter a local access number, your username, and password. (if the password is not
entered here you will be prompted for it each time
you connect). Click the Next Page arrow. Select No
IP, then click the Next Page arrow. Enter the
following DNS numbers: 204.170.64.2, (return)
204.170.64.4 and comcat.com as the Domain Name, then click the Next Page arrow. Enter
your Email address and your password. (if the
password is not entered here you will be prompted for
it each time you check for new mail). Click the Next
Page arrow. Enter your username, and the Mail Server name; mail.comcat.com and click the
Next Page arrow. Enter the News Server name; news.comcation.net and click the
Next Page arrow. Click the Go Ahead Button to
complete the Setup Assistant and save the new
settings.
How do I setup my MacPPP?
1.
Open up the control panel, Config PPP. Version 2.2.0
will look like this. Notice that PPP is
"down" which means you have not made a
connection. Choose the modem port or printer port
depending on where you've plugged in your modem. Set
an idle timeout if you wish. Comcation's server has a
20 minute timeout so just you can set this to NONE.

2.
Click on the Config... button. You get this window
below. Enter the full PPP server name as shown. Set
your Port Speed to 57600 or whatever maximum speed
your modem is. Note that older Macintosh's have
serial ports with a limit of 57,600. If you have a
newer Mac, you can push this up to 115K. Also, a
14,400 baud modem can send information at 4x that
rate = 57,600. So, a 28,800 baud modem can send
(using compression) at rates of 115,200 baud. Use
those as maximums.
Set the flow control to CTS&RTS (DTR) if you have
a high speed modem with hardware handshaking (see
your modem manuals). Otherwise, use nothing. Enter
the phone number. The modem init string depends on
your modem. A list of some modem strings are appended
to this document. I don't give any guarantees on
them. Use the Modem Init, ATZ, if nothing works. I've
noticed that many modems have an excellent default
init string of AT&F1, which will set all of the
flow control and error correction to the best
possible for a PPP connection.

3.
To dial in automatically and you're not worried about
other people getting on your computer while you're
not there and doing something evil to your computer,
enter the Authentication. If you leave these blank,
then you must enter the username and password each time you access the
internet. Enter stuff here to save time. Replace
"joeuser" with your username. Enter your password. Be sure to use
UPPER and lower case as appropriate.

Connecting ... at last
Select the button named "Open" from the
Config PPP control panel or open any program that
uses the internet. For example, ask for your mail or
ask for a web page. Any call that tries to make your
computer talk to the internet automatically opens a
PPP connection.
There are special little helper programs (e.g.,
PPPop) to make opening and closing a PPP connection
easier than going directly to the control panel. You
can download these as needed.
When you are done, select Soft Close or Hard Close.
Problem: If you have a newer Mac (7500, 8500, 9500),
you may notice that if you connect once and
disconnect, then only way to reconnect is to restart
your computer and try again.
Problem: If you are connected but the Config PPP
control panel won't let you Hard Close or Soft Close,
then you probably have a conflict between MacTCP and
Open Transport Protocol. Unplug the phone line from
the modem and restart the computer. Then try again,
but making sure that you have moved the appropriate
files from the Extensions folder or the Control
Panels folder.
(c) 1995 Matthew C. Hutcheson (hutch@comcat.com)
What are my settings for
TCP/IP?
Open the
TCP/IP control panel and you will see its window as
shown in enclosed OT_TCP/IP.tif file. If you set
yours to match the below graphic (The important
settings are "Connect via:" set to MacPPP,
"Configure:" set to Using PPP Server,
"Name Server addr.:" set to
204.170.64.2, "Starting Domain Name:" set to comcat.com, "Ending Domain Name:" set to comcat.com, and
"Additional Search Domains:" set to
204.170.64.4) then you should close the TCP/IP
control panel and restart your MAC.

Once restarted, depending on if you have if you have
set PPP to auto connect or not you can either launch
any program that needs TCP/IP or first open Config
PPP control panel and press the open button to open
your net connection to the provider and then launch
the programs.
How do I setup my FreePPP?
First you
need the latest version of FreePPP the PPP connection
software. It is freely distributable archive called
FreePPP105sit which includes documentation and
instructions.
FreePPP should be installed as instructed. Then
restart the MAC and open Config PPP in your control
panel and set it to match the graphic below, the
settings being "Hangup on Close",
"Quiet Mode", and"Port Name".

Then choose button "New..." and set it to
match the screen below, the settings being "PPP
Server Name:" set to "comcat.com",
your modem will determine the rest of the settings
"Port speed", "Flow Control",
"Tone Dial/Pulse Dial", and "Modem
Init". The "Phone num" should be your
local access number.

And lastly for PPP your ID and password should be
entered into "Authentication..." so that
your logon will be automatic.
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