Videos

IRATA Demo

This video provides an overview of IRATA.ONLINE, and what makes it unique from other systems, such as BBSes.

Thom goes through the process of using PTERM to connect to the service, logging onto the service, showing the menu system, how to use notes, TERM-talk, the TUTOR development environment, and other unique features.

The video ends with a small segment on using an Atari 800, and the PLATO cartridge to connect to the service

Why I started IRATA

I decided to do a small video detailing the mission of IRATA.ONLINE, the heritage of IRATA.ONLINE, and where it differs from CYBER1.ORG in both mission, and intended audience.

What is the Notesfile Sequencer?

A user asked me, "What is the notesfile sequencer, and how do I use it?" I've made this video to visually demonstrate how to use the notesfile sequencer, and more videos will be made for various features as users ask questions.

Features: About Linesets

Linesets are used when outputting text on PLATO that is other sizes than the default size of 0. Unlike character sets, which are used for size 0 (normal text), linesets are made up of line vectors, with an ending coordinate to specify where to place the cursor, next. This makes linesets akin to proportional outline fonts, and can be used as such. It definitely saves from having to draw repeated characters using the screen editor, over and over again! :)

Features: About Character Sets

This is an overview and a quick tutorial on creating and using character sets in your lessons on IRATA.ONLINE, a PLATO based system available for retro-computing users. I show the process of creating the character set, and then using those custom characters for animation

Getting Started with PLATOTerm for ZX Spectranet

ZX Spectrum users with Spectranet devices can easily use PLATOTerm to access PLATO services such as IRATA.ONLINE and CYBER1.ORG.

This video shows loading PLATOTerm directly from IRATA.ONLINE's TNFS server, and connecting to both IRATA.ONLINE and CYBER1.ORG, as well as using the help function to get more information on the special keys used by PLATO.

IRATA.ONLINE and PLATOTerm: Many Platforms, One Codebase - Teleconferencing Example

IRATA.ONLINE is a retro-computing on-line service that spans many different platforms. To this end, a new terminal, PLATOTerm has been written in C, and is being targeted to many different platforms, at the same time. Shown here is an example of many different 8-bit machines connecting to IRATA.ONLINE and using the teleconferencing screen share functionality built into PLATO. :)

Getting Started with PLATOTerm for Commodore 64

This video shows how to get started with using PLATOTerm to connect to, and use IRATA.ONLINE, from your Commodore 64.

Getting Started with PLATOTerm for Apple ][

This video shows how to get started using PLATOTerm on your Apple ][ to access IRATA.ONLINE.

Getting Started with PLATOTerm for Atari 8-bit

This video shows how to get started with using PLATOTerm on your Atari 8-bit to connect to, and use IRATA.ONLINE.