Hi, a short comeback to this list for a few infos. Sorry if I don't stay too long, I usually don't have the time to deal with the amount of traffic here.
Quite often I receive questions about the mentioned subjects. So maybe it's good to clarify a few things for a wider audience. QLwIP, what works: * HTTP server, including support for PUT (upload) method * Graphical Mail client: POP3, SMTP with authentication, local folders, serverside message handling, multiple accounts * Simple TCP telnet/echo test server * Hardware driver for Q40/Q60 ethernet * Hardware driver for serial (SLIP) * Ping echo * Supported protocols: ICMP, IP, UDP, TCP * C API similar to Berkeley socket API, _only_ internal use * Multitasking use of the stack by several jobs QLwIP, current restrictions: * Applications and library must be linked to the same binary * Final API not specified nor implemented * Jobs using QLwIP can only be savely removed if the network is brought down * Name resolver available, but not intergrated * TCP over ethernet is artificially limited to about 75 kBytes/sec throughput QLwIP Release: The software can already do useful things like transferring files by TCP protocol, which is a good thing especially when communating with a Windows or Linux box, or act as a Webserver, or deal with personal email if one has a DSL or ISDN router. E.g. this mail was sent by QLwIP from a Q60 under QDOS Classic (Have a look at the "X-Mailer" header ;-) Still I don't find QLwIP fit for a release. Why? * QLwIP and especially the API have not the final structure. A premature release could mislead other developers who want to write TCP/IP apps. * The OS in it's current stage doesn't allow fullspeed multitasking TCP if the ethernet driver is interrupt triggered. An OS change is required, before I can give QLwIP the preferred structure. * I would like to see QLwIP _integrated_ into an operating system and use a free software license for my work. Now SMSQ/E is incompatible to all free software licenses, Minerva is free software but not ported to Q60, and QDOS Classic has only a small user base. This is kind of a dilemma. USB: Same old question. It would be feasible to develop an USB hardware add-on for Q40/Q60. USB host controllers with simple bus interfaces are available, a card that fits into a Q60 extension slot or maybe ROM socket is not a very hard design challenge. Nevertheless I won't make such a hardware, because it is absolutely unrealistic that the necessary QL software will be written. Q60 Successor: I admit, it's true that D&D Systems and me had internal plans for a Q60 successor. They included a new Coldfire derivative with FPU, and a new approach to overcome remaining incompatibilities between Coldfire and 68k. I gave up these plans, because they would have required SMSQ/E to be modified and optimized for the new hardware. After the departure of Tony Tebby, I see no basis for projects like this anymore, because there's no common ground with the new SMSQ/E maintainers, and at the same time no freedom to develop SMSQ/E under open source conditions. QDOS Classic provides this freedom, but I currently find it not advanced enough to justify another large investment of my time and money in QL hardware. So from my side there's no hot product in the pipeline. All the best Peter
