MCS: Unique, Dependable Communication Tool



Author: Paul B. Blood

Date: March, 1987

Keywords: 

Text:
     I investigated many programs while looking for a communications
package for use in transmitting files, data and programs used in
research.  One of the major requirements was to be able to transfer
information to and from Norway, where my sister, also a Macintosh
owner, is currently living.  We needed a reliable and cost-effective
method that would allow for the timely exchange of information.
     We had tried ordinary telephone calls supplemented by mailing
disks.  This became very expensive and still did not give satisfactory
results.  We had to wait for the mail to transfer any program or
formatting changes.  Delivery time to Europe via air mail can vary from
as little as 4 or 5 days to as much as 6 weeks, and the disks may not
arrive in usable condition.
     I believed that some method of electronic mail was what we needed
to use.  I investigated the services of Telenet, Tymnet, Bitnet and
many other suggested services.  The major drawback to all of these
services was that to use them we had to move out of the Mac environment
and into a Text Only environment.  I was told that the sacrifice of
formatting and graphics was the trade-off for getting our information
back and forth within a predictable time frame.  This was unacceptable.
     This was the dilemma when I had the good fortune to receive a
program called MCS as part of the SPRING '86 BMUG Newsletter.  MCS, the
Multichannel Communications System, was developed by Yves Lempereur for
in-house use at Mainstay, and is being distributed by him as shareware
(suggested contribution $10).  Mainstay, developers of MacBooster,
Telescape, TypeNow, PacPaint, and BINHEX, had already faced a problem
similar to ours.  They had to make transfers to and from Europe via a
satellite link which was noisy, expensive, and had a long return time. 
Mainstay found that XMODEM file transfers were not effective because of
these problems.  They developed and implemented in MCS their own
proprietary protocol, X.MS, similar to the CCITT X.25 protocol.  It
eliminates any noise and the problem of the long return time.  MCS
uses, in addition, a higher level protocol which allows simultaneous
upload, download and chat by keyboard using different channels. 
Upload, download and chat all take place in the same length of time as
a single XMODEM transfer, making MCS very cost effective.  The
MacBinary format is used for file transfers, so any kind of Macintosh
application or document can be transferred.
     As suggested in its accompanying documentation, MCS is most easily
used if viewed as an upload-only program.  Two persons who wish to
communicate must both be using MCS.  Each selects a series of files
from a dialogue box.  One operator selects Dial from the File menu,
andthen, if a connection is made, each of the two Macs running MCS
simultaneously uploads a series of files to the other.  The uploads
will be done in the order that the files are selected.  The MCS
operators can chat during the file transfer by entering lines from the
keyboard, which can be edited in the usual manner prior to pressing the
Return or Enter keys.  A line can be 80 characters long and can contain
any Macintosh character.
     MCS has the basic user friendliness of any Macintosh application. 
However since it was developed to meet Mainstay's in-house needs, it
has some rough edges.  Though all transfers are saved to disk, MCS does
not check to see if there is adequate space on the target disk.  If a
file is received with the same name as an existing file, the
pre-existing file is overwritten.  To change the communications
parameters or the phone number to be dialed you must use the companion
program  MCS Edit.  No printing of the file being trasferred can be
accomplished during transmission, and the only way to print those items
transferred during the "chat", is to complete the call, "Hang Up" and
then use Command-Shift-4 to print the window.
     We have been using MCS over the regular AT&T voice lines for some
time now, with great success.  We have found the cost to be near, but
just slightly higher, than the cost of sending the same material by Air
Mail.  Our average cost for sending approximately 10K in each direction
has been $1.81.
     We had some problems in the early stages of using MCS.  We
contacted Yves Lempereur at Mainstay and were immediately given the
help we needed to set up the program, making it now one  of the easiest
to use and most cost-effective that we have.  We find it not only
valuable, but indispensable.
     I want to thank Mainstay for allowing Yves to offer this program
as shareware and to support it as a public service.

Copyright © march, 1987 by Paul B. Blood