Telnet was not something I was familiar with prior to this task, although it does appear to be something which I may have unknowingly used back in school when computers networks were still relatively raw.
- The PuTTY interface
I decided to undertake this task on a PC running Windows XP and found that it took a little bit of effort to locate a Telnet client. It appears that Vista comes with an install link of some sort to get Telnet set up. Using XP however, I found telnet was accessible using a utility called HyperTerminal – already installed, but I wanted to try telnet using a more “user-friendly” interface. I settled with PuTTY a telnet/SSH client. The interface was surprisingly easy to use, considering I was expecting something quite primitive given the simplicity of the PuTTY website.
Telnet was relatively easy to use. I would actually prefer to use this for my local library since their website can be a little problematic in my experience – unfortunately they don’t appear to offer it (perhaps due to the more secure options now available). The ability to email search results was a handy feature although I’m unsure I would use it in a real life scenario, as was the ability to drill down to in depth details of a particular library item.
- The Deakin Library Telnet Interface
- Search Results for author: Bennahum
The Telnet animation at the address towel.blinkenlights.nl was a clever use of Telnet but in this day of high tech animation it didn’t hold my attention long enough to watch it all the way through. Once upon a time it may have been ground breaking, providing an example of how alternative thinking can cause breakthroughs in technology usage. Innovative thoughts like the blinkenlights example show how not all potential uses for an application are obvious at first look.
- A still image from the blinkenlights animation
