Komunista II
Idea and programming by Bartlomiej Knapp (c) 1998.

This software is FREEWARE, but (!) any donations will be greatly appreciated and will 
provide me with incentive to incorporate new features into this program!  You will find a 
way of contacting me at the end of this document.

Disclaimer
Use this software on your own risk.  You agree not to hold the author of this software 
responsible in case of loss of data or any other kind of property damage.  Amen.

The purpose
This program was created to facilitate the communication between people connected on 
the LAN.  It grew out of necessity, as calling my friend living one floor below was too much 
of a pain.

Requirements
In order to run this program you will need the following:
? Windows NT 4.0 (or higher) or Windows 95 (or higher)
? Installed and running TCP/IP protocol
? LAN + some other computers on it (unless you are one of these people who enjoys 
talking to himself).
There is also a port of this program for Macintosh.

Installation
There is no fancy installation wizard for this program.
1. Create a directory for the program and uncompress/copy ALL files to it.  For 
example:
"c:\Program Files\Komunista II" is a reasonable choice.
2. Create a shortcut in your Startup folder.  To do this right-click on the taskbar, 
choose Properties.  Select Start Menu Programs, go to advanced, and from there 
create a shortcut...  (I'm not going to go through all the steps)
3. Copy font file tahoma.ttf to your windows/fonts directory.
4. You can either reboot your computer, or manually start the program.

Options
In order to activate the options menu, left-click on the icon on taskbar's tray.
Play wave on ring - Checking this item causes the program to play sound defined in 
sound setup as EXCLAMATION.  Otherwise it makes some weird noises through the 
internal speaker.
Hide hosts window - Causes the window with network hosts to magically disappear.
Network Interface - Allows you to choose on which network Komunista will be active.
Save preferences - In order for the changes to be permanent, you need to save them 
using this option.
About - a little credit screen.
Exit - Guess...

Actions on Net Hosts window
Left clicking on a host name will display a popup menu.
Chat - Creates a chat window for this host.  In order to send a message, type it in the 
bottom box and press Enter (or click on S button).  The R button will sound a beep on the 
remote computer.
Ring - Makes noise on the other end.
Info - Gives you some basic info about this computer.

What can go wrong, and how to make it right?
If your computer takes a long time to start the program or the program crashes as it starts.
The reason for this is that name of your PC can not be resolved.
Fix for Windows NT:
Go to Network setup and select TCP/IP protocol.  Select WINS Address tab.  Enable 
LMHOSTS lookup and import a file that contains IP addresses and appropriate names for 
your network.  A minimum would be a file containing one loop-back address and your 
PC's IP and name.  Without it the program will not run.
Fix for Windows 95:
Just stick the same file in WINDOWS directory.  There is a sample file called hosts.sam, 
try to modify it to include your PC's IP and name.

After switching the resolution the hosts window disappears even though it should be 
visible.
The reason for this is that you probably saved the preferences at a higher resolution, and 
after changing the resolution to lower the window exists in space not displayed at current 
resolution.
To fix it, switch to higher resolution and move the window closer to upper-left corner of the 
display.  Another way to fix it would be to manually edit the Komunista.ini file living in the 
windows directory.  Change the numbers for X and Y under Host Window part.  Try low 
numbers such as 100 and 100.

Wish list
? Add a privacy feature that would make you unavailable when you don't want to be 
annoyed.
? Extend the info option and make it possible to control what kind of info is going out.  
Maybe add a message field?
? Allow multiple people to chat.  Kind of like little IRC thing.
? Port to Cray supercomputer.

Ports to other platforms
Macintosh (MC68k) - Radek Wierzbicki.  To inquire about availability E-mail to:
Raddev@geocities.com

Contacting the author:
If I'm not conquering any desolate peak in a far-away land or enjoying fresh powder on my 
snowboard I can be reached at this address:

Bartlomiej Knapp
139-55 35th Avenue, Apt. #5J
Flushing, NY 11354

I also have an E-mail account (it seems like everyone does nowadays):
Bknapp01@utopia.poly.edu


Enjoy!
