STRCODE-back to status quo

["Reeve Fritchman" <reeve@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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Hak Lui (IBM Toronto) suggested trying STRCODE without a user
profile/password and removing the user profile from the communications
console as well.

As it turns out, the Comm Console wouldn't give up the user
profiles/password; they're more persistent than S/36's.  So I finally
clobbered all my servers, _rebooted_, and made nice new servers without
specifying user profiles/passwords.  I get a password prompt when I hit the
server for the first time, otherwise, everything's cool.  It's possible that
I could go back to the Comm Console, fill in the user/password, and skip the
prompt, but I'm not that adventuresome yet (Can you spell "recidivist"?  It
means "somebody who breaks it, fixes it, then tries to break it again
thinking he can fix it again").  My dial-up functionality (getting batch
compiles returned, starting CODE/400 from a green screen) has been restored
to where it was a few days ago on both laptop and desktop.

I opened my cable modem router (RT314) to port 4200; I think I'm getting a
different message when I try STRCODE over the network.  Now the error number
is 3447, "A remote host did not respond within the timeout period."  It
hangs for a few minutes instead of blowing up right away.  Progress!

Using the network and the NAT box, I'm still not able to start CODE/400 from
a green screen and _batch_ compile error lists don't come back.  If your
compiles don't come back, do ACTIONS|COMPILE|PROMPT|(program generator
doesn't come into focus, go figure)OPTIONS|SETTINGS|Action mode "I".  This
will tie your CODE/400 session up while the compile runs and until the error
list comes back, but it's worth the wait, seeing as it's a (10**4) %
improvement over SEU and WRKSPLF, which is why I flagellate myself
periodically by poking a sleeping dog and tweaking CODE/400.  There has to
be a better word than "tweak" to describe this last experience...I'm
thinking something like "trying to fix something small and delicate with a
jeweler's loupe and screwdriver and instead dropping a daisy cutter on it."

I took Vincent Greene's advice and downloaded (free) ZoneAlarm; I wish I
hadn't...because the number of probes and weird IP's (mostly from Rumania,
it seems) you get in the course of a day is terrifying.  I feel like the Sad
Sack after seeing the hygiene movie.  You won't leave home, or your LAN,
without some sort of software fire wall if you  don't have something
industrial-strength already in place.  Unfortunately ZoneAlarm
(www.zonealarm.com) is baffled by Spinner.com's shifting IP addresses (IP
range function won't do and URL resolves to the primary IP address only).

Hak, thank you.  Vincent, thank you.  ZoneAlarm, thank you...thank you very
much.


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