Create an shell account at cyberspace 

Points: 25                 Due date: Announced in Class

With this assignment you will create a shell account at cyberspace.org. In case our system fails you have an alternative method to receive your email and have access to shell so you can continue the use of UNIX.

Grex is a public-access computer conferencing system in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. It is cooperatively owned and operated, and is supported entirely by donations from users. All staff members are volunteers.

If you are doing this from home, make sure to connect to your internet provider first before completing this assignment

Using your web browser go to http://www.cyberspace.org/

Select option to Get a Free Account 

Fill out the form: 
As your login id use the first initial of your first name plus the next 7 charaters of your last name, such as 
walter morales = wmorales. If user id already exists use a similar one followed by a number, but add a number, such as wmorale2 but make sure not to user more than eight character long.

When selecting your password, use the same password as you will choose for the jupiter system

Make the following selection while filling the form.
Prefered Login Shell: 
 sh - standard Unix Bourne Shell. 

Prefered Text Editor: 
vi

Default Terminal Type: 
vt100

Prefered Backspace Key: 
 Backspace (Control-H) 

Prefered Interupt Key: 
 Control-C 

Personal Information
If you don't feel comfortable filling out this section, just create some other information or leave it blank

After your account is successfully created, you will see a Welcome to Grex screen. 

At the bottom of this screen you will see:
To log in, telnet to Grex <telnet://cyberspace.org> and enter the login name and password that you selected. If Grex's network ports are all in use, you will be put onto a waiting list to get onto Grex. The wait is usually short. 
Click on the link telnet to grex, this "should" open your telnet program on your computer and try to connect to the cybersapce.org coputer system. You may have to wait a while to log on, you may see the message:
   Waiting for a free port (? for help)
...16
...15
...14
Just wait and eventually a port will be free and you see:
Grex central timekeeping.  At the beep, the time is
 1:41PM on Thursday, 30 March 2000
New to grex?  Type help at the login prompt
(ttyu4) grex login: 

If you telnet program does not start automatically then you will have to find your telnet program in your computer. 

To find the program do the following: click on Start, Find , Files or Folders and search for a file named telnet as shown in class.

Once you find the telnet program, double click on that file and your telnet program will start. 

At the main menu use the option Connect, Remote system, on host name type cyberspace.org

Logon into the system using your new login and password.
Once you log in your should see a system message showing to options for the system and the $ prompt
Your final talk will be to send a message to your instructor. 

At the shell prompt ($) make sure that the terminal emulation is set to vt100 at the UNIX side and at your telnet software, as demonstrated in class (also shown on page 928). Change it if necessary to vt100, please see your notes how to do it or this is explained on our book.

Type elm at the shell prompt and the elm program should come up on the screen. If elm does not come up and you receive an error message related to the terminal, such as "Your terminal does not support the "clear to end of display" function (cd)" at the shell prompt type:

TERM=vt100

This should take care of the problem, enter elm again. If it is the first time that you are using it, there will be a couple of questions to confirm the creation of a couple of files, just answer y to both questions. 

1. Send an email message to wmorales@pcc.edu, 
2. make sure that on the subject section your have
   cs161 - your name - my cyberpace account
3. In the body of the message you will just say
   Hello, 
   this is my first email message using elm and vi as my text editor
   my account at cyberspace is 
   youruserid@cyberspace.org
4. Save your message
5. Use the option s)end to send away your message.

If you need further assistance with vi, try the following links

That is it!
Now you have a free unix account and if you done all correctly, your will get the 25 points

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This page was last modified January 16, 2001
wmorales@pcc.edu