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Vineyard.NET is slowly transitioning towards a more standards compliant website that separates the look and feel of the site from the content.

This is done using a technology called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Unfortunately, support for CSS in older browsers (specifically, anything prior to a version 5.0) ranges from poor and incomplete to simply wrong and painful for both viewers and designers. Ultimately, there is no way to reliably design a CSS-based layout for older web browsers. Vineyard.NET will continue to ensure the overall functionality of its website for older browsers but the overall experience will be a little more spartan than before.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and invite you to consider upgrading your web browser. For what it's worth, we like Mozilla but just about any modern browser, including Internet Explorer, should suffice.

MacOS 7.6 - 9.x

Setting Up MacOS 7.6 - 9.x

Setting Up Your Mac
Configuring the Modem Control Panel Configuring the PPP Control Panel
Configuring the TCP/IP Control Panel
Going Online

Open Transport was introduced around the time of Apple's System 7.5.3. as a replacement to MacTCP. Macintosh computers running any version of the operating system prior to, and including, System 7.6.1 could use either Open Transport or MacTCP to get online. Computers using MacOS 8 and higher use only Open Transport, which is included with the installer CD for the operating system.

Although the initial release of Open Transport was somewhat problematic, subsequent upgrades have proven to be both vastly more stable and much easier to configure than MacTCP. As of this writing, the current version of Open Transport is 1.3.

Setting up your Mac

Open Transport consists of an ever-growing number of Extensions and three Control Panels. You do not need to worry about the former as long as they were installed normally, but each of three Control Panels will need to be configured individually. They are :

  • Modem <- where you select the correct "script" that your Mac will use to "speak" to your modem.
  • PPP <- where you'll enter your name and password and password and phone number for the Vineyard.NET server.
  • TCP/IP <- where you'll tell your computer how you plan to connect to the Internet, and where the information it will need to do so is located.

    • You can access each of these Control Panels from the Apple Menu.
    To see a screen shot (55kb) of the Control Panels folder accessed from the Apple Menu, click here

    Configuring the Modem Control Panel

  • Hold down to Connect via popup menu, and select the port specific to your modem.

    Generally this is the Modem Port, or Printer/Modem port if you have a laptop or a single serial port, however some software and internal modems will install "virtual" ports.

  • Next, select the type of modem you are using from the Modem popup menu. If you do not find the type of modem you are using listed, try using one of the others listed, preferably a script for another modem with the same brand name. Failing that, you should contact the manufacturer of the modem.

    "Generic" scripts (sometimes referred to as "CCL"s) and utilities to generate new "modem scripts" do exist, but they require both a degree of expertise and patience in their use, with no real guarantee of success.

  • The Sound radio buttons allow to toggle the sound output from your modem.

    While it is generally more convenient to disable sound for day to day usage, being able to hear whether or not the modem is even getting a dial-tone or connecting with the Vineyard.NET server can dramatically cut down the time on any trouble-shooting you may encounter.

  • The Dialing radio button should be set to Tone.

    • Configuring the PPP Control Panel

    PPP Control Panel

  • In the Name field, enter your Vineyard.NET username.

    This is the name that you chose when you first set up your account, and the name that you give to people with your email address -- ie. username@vineyard.net.

  • Whether or not you choose to save your password is a personal decision. If you enable the Save password function, any person could log on as you by simply pressing the "Connect" button.

    If you enter nothing in the PPP Control Panel's Password field, you will be prompted for your password when you attempt to connect to the Internet.

  • The Number field is where you enter the number that your modem will dial to connect to VIneyard.NET. It is : 696-6650

  • The Status field lets you know whether the modem is dialing and connecting, whether you are online and for how long, as well as the amount of information being sent to and from your computer.

    This information can be invaluable when you are troubleshooting

    • Configuring the PPP Control Panel Options

    The PPP Control Panel also has multiple options that can be configured to your liking. These include controls for re-dialing, flashing an icon in the menu bar when you are online, and automatically disconnecting after a specified period of inactivity.

    Spend some time looking over the options and make sure they suit your needs. Most are self-evident, but if you are unsure you can turn on the Help Balloons from the Help menu bar. Apple has been nice enough to write descriptions for each of the items in the Options window.

    Configuring the TCP/IP Control Panel

    OTPPP-TCP/IP Control Panel

  • In the Connect Via popup menu, select "PPP".

    If you are using a third party application, such as FreePPP, to connect to the Internet you will need to choose the "FreePPP" selection. What you are doing is telling the TCP/IP Control Panel where to find the information it needs to connect.

    note: If you have installed Open Transport without first removing the existing networking extensions and control panels that came with MacTCP, you may find a morass of choices to pick from including multiple "PPP"s. Unfortunately there exists no way from within the TCP/IP Control Panel to determine which PPP selection belongs to Open Transport. The only solution is to open up your System Folder -->the Extensions and Control Panels, and possibly even the Preferences, folders--> and perform multiple Get Info's (command-I) on the various components, throwing away the older versions. Sorry. If you have installed Open transport while doing a full system "Clean Install", you shouldn't have to worry about it but keep it in mind.

    note: If you were given a copy of the Apple Internet Access Kit CD, you should be aware that it is widely considered to be possibly the worst piece of software that Apple has ever released. If you have already installed it, and are planning on upgrading to Open Transport, make sure that you go through the System Folder (see above) and throw way any existing PPP-related components. If you have not installed the Internet Access Kit, we strongly advise you not to.

  • Under Setup hold down the Configure popup menu and choose "Using PPP Server".

    When you do, the IP Address, Subnet mask and Router address fields should all read :
    will be supplied by server

    This is all information that the Internet will use to identify you while you are online, which is set dynamically every time you connect to Vineyard.NET

  • In the Name server addr field, enter, on separate lines, the following numbers:
    204.17.195.100
    204.17.195.99

    In the Search domains: field, enter the words : vineyard.net

    Going Online

    PPP-online

  • From the PPP Control Panel, make sure that your username and password are entered correctly, and press the "Connect" button.

    The Status window, will display a message which "echoes" the modem's connection process. It should look similar to this:

  • Connecting
  • Dialing 696-6650
  • Communicating at 14,400 bps
  • Modem reliable compression established
  • Starting PPP
  • Authenticating
  • Starting Network Protocols


  • At which point, your PPP Control Panel should look like the screen shot to the left. You're online! Fire up your web browser or your email client and have a good time.

    When you're done, just press the "Disconnect" button.

  • If you are not able to get online, wait until the Status field says "Idle" and press the "Connect" button again. Watch the Status field carefully and note where the connection process fails. Generally, a message will appear indicating where the problem is.