How to Retrieve Files
The easiest way to retrieve
files from MGNet is to use a web browser from Netscape
or Microsoft. I use a the highest browser
version I can find that works. I use version 4 browsers that are capable of
correctly handling the Java JDK 1.1.5. Currently, there are no Java applets running
on MGNet, but that may change in the foreseeable future.
The MGNet web pages assume
that you are capable of seeing at least 256 colors though a number of the contributed files do not make this
assumption and use many more colors. Most of the older papers on MGNet are monochrome.
Many of the files end in the
extension .gz. Any file with this extension has been
compressed using the GNU utility gzip. I use the -9 option to maximize the
compression. The files with an extension of .tgz
are gzipped tar files. There are free UNIX and Windows versions of gzip
and tar on the Web, including
already built binaries for many systems. Follow this link
for help on unpacking either .gz or .tgz files.
Most of the papers are in PostScript format (.ps file
extension). Some are in Adobe Portable Document format (.pdf).
Only recently have Microsoft Word (.doc) or PowerPoint (.ppt) documents
appeared.
Follow the links to the file
you want and click on it. You may want to hold the shift key while clicking if you
are serious about saving a file only to disk. Alternately, saving files on your own
computer using your browser can be done using the Save as feature, which is usually
found in the File menu.
For many, many years anonymous ftp was
supported. Due to abuse by hackers and game players, this option is no
longer normally available.
If you have problems, send
e-mail to mgnet-requests@cs.yale.edu with
a message explaining what the problems are. I will send you a response as soon as
possible.
