InfinityMay 20
Jens Ohlig

Happy 40th birthday, ZMODEM! On May 20, 1986 the ZMODEM protocol specification was posted on Usenet by Chuck Forsberg of Omen Technology.

https://www.tuhs.org/Usenet/comp.sources.unix/1986-May/004372.html

If you used a BBS before the Internet you might get nostalgic. Otherwise you probably have no idea what this is about (and that’s fine).

ZMODEM Protocol Description

May 20 at 9:17pmWeb
Show threadtomkyleMay 20
@johl das waren doch die Dinger, die immerlos „fiii-rüüü-dideli-füüü“ gemacht haben. In meiner Erinnerung waren die gar nicht so lange hip, und überhaupt leisteten sich Privathaushalte ab Anfang der Neunziger eher ein Fax, am besten mit diesem neuen ISDN…
Show threadCome On Giant Asteroid!May 20

@johl

I think I first heard the robot's scream in 1991 and by then, pretty much everything was Z-Modem. Wasn't long before it was SLIP then PPP ... Still [XYZ]modem moved a lot of alt.binaries.pictures back in the day. ...

Show threadJustin DerrickMay 21

@johl At the time, ZModem was a huge advancement - faster, more reliable, more automated, resilient to noisy dial-up lines, and restartable (after someone else in the house picked up the phone). I used to use it over a serial cable to transfer files between PC and Mac before network hardware was affordable and floppy drives were cross-platform-compatible.

I was amazed a while back when I found out that modern open-source terminal software still supported it as part of the retro-computing scene.

Show threadAleksandr KoltsoffMay 21
@johl XMODEM is still used occasionally in embedded world (sadly only X).
Show threadHarald Hannelius May 21
@johl I have used zmodem during the last year. A bricked switch needed a software install, revived it via minicom.
Show threadCaspar C. MierauMay 21
@johl Hach!
Show threadDavid Harrison 🇨🇦May 21
@johl Getting ZModem was huge, way back when.
Show threadCanageekMay 21
@johl I think this might have been what I used to place holds at the library when I was a kid!
Show threadCraigMay 21
@johl Every so often, I run across the card with my license key on it. Pretty sure I haven’t run it this century.
Show threadnLupo  May 21
@johl I remember zmodem, but I barely have used it.
Show threadKnut 🏳️‍🌈 🇳🇴🧸May 21
@johl for the longest time, Zmodem was the only way to transfer files back and forth pubn*x systems. without FTP, which is kind of a bitch. It's still useful with SSH since it runs over the same connection.
Show threadStoneBear May 21
@johl I got that reference!
Show threadAndreas MickleiMay 21
@johl Good old times. I spent hours staring at the progress bar.
Show threadWillard GooseyMay 22
@johl
Zmodem rules!
Show threadSimon ZerafaMay 22

@johl

I suspect @bagder might know this but just in case.

ZMODEM is not something I have used for a long time ... 😌

Show thread2¢May 22
@johl Reminding me of the day that uucp routing priorities got messed up and started sending Princeton University's Usenet feeds via dial-up through my home system. Wondering why that dialup line stayed connected all day. Then I got a real full time 56Kb IP connection from UUNET for the low low price of $700/month.