Bote V1.4
Released 1998-Feb-12

Hello and Thank You for trying Bote

I've tried to keep Bote fast and easy to use
without consuming outrageous amounts of disk
space or processor usage.

Your comments about Bote are very welcome
and I'd like to encourage you to email me
about your experiences with it.

hey,   dbin@mail.sce.de   is easy!

If you find Bote less-than-OK I would like
to know what I did wrong.


Have a real good time.

-db-


Ok if you still reading, here is what you can find in this file

--- What is Bote:
--- Why use Bote?:
--- Distribution:
--- Installation:
--- UnInstall:
--- Where is the help file?:
--- File Transfers:
--- Configuration:
--- Status Display:
--- Command line options:
--- Web Server:
--- Bote On The Web:
--- Portability:
--- Diagnostics:
--- Advanced:
--- Privacy:
--- MultiLingual:
--- Legal stuff:
--- Credits:



---------------------------------
What is Bote:
---------------------------------
 Bote (German for messenger) is a program that lets you
 have a text chat with another Bote user.  If you are concerned
 about privacy you can enable data encryption for your chat.

 Bote also provides an answering service and callers can leave 
 messages for you if you are not answering to chat requests.

 Files and Folders can be transfered too.  Just drag and 
 drop them onto the chat or talk window.


---------------------------------
Why use Bote?:
---------------------------------
 Easy to use, less time to setup, more time to use.
 Fast, starts quickly, runs fast.
 Small, does not occupy megabytes of disk space.
 Efficient, easy on those CPU cycles.
 Portable, telnet compatable.
 Secure, wont send private info, or accept unwanted files.


---------------------------------
Distribution:
---------------------------------
Distribute freely.
It is acceptable to include Bote on shareware collections
CD-ROMS, BBS's, Websites and other forms of PUBLIC ACCESS
archive storage sites.  Bote and its accompanying files
must be maintained in their entirety.

This is a non time limited, fully functional, evaluation
version of Bote.


---------------------------------
Installation:
---------------------------------
 Copy or unzip the files to the directory of your choice.
 I suggest
 "c:\Program Files\dbsoft\" 
 -or-
 c:\programme\dbsoft\

 Finally drag a shortcut onto your desktop and click.

 Bote should work as-is, just enter an IP address
 of another Bote user, (or your own address) and 
 press Chat.

 Bote comes with the following files:
 = = = = = =      = = = = = = = = = 
 bote.exe         the program
 bote.gif         a small gif of the Bote Bird
 bote.html        a sample file for the HTTP server.
 botehelp.eng     help file (english)
 botetips.eng     tips file (english)
 botehelp.deu     help file (german)
 botetips.deu     tips file (german)
 filein.wav       played when file lists arrive PCM,11,025 Hz, 8 Bit, Mono
 mesgin.wav       played when messages and PopNotes arrive
 ringin.wav       played when people call you   PCM,11,025 Hz, 8 Bit, Mono
 ringout.wav      played when you call out      PCM,11,025 Hz, 8 Bit, Mono
 PRICE.txt        Current Price List
 README.txt       this file.
 WHATSNEW.txt     list of changes
 = = = = = =      = = = = = = = = = 


 Bote Creates and uses three other files
 bote.ini  (in your windows directory)      configuration settings
 bote.bom  (in a directory of your choice)  messages and log file
 bote.boa  (in a directory of your choice)  address book
 bote.bop  (in a directory of your choice)  popup notes when Bote is shut down.
 bote.log  (in a directory of your choice)  log file

 By default Bote uses c:\tmp for its files
 these can all be set in the setup panel.


---------------------------------
UnInstall:
---------------------------------
 Delete c:\windows\bote.ini

 The other Bote files can also be
 dragged into the trash bin.

 c:\tmp\bote.boa   (address book)
 c:\tmp\bote.bom   (message and logs)
 c:\tmp\bote.bop   (recent Bote notes)
 c:\tmp\bote.log   (log file)

 Delete any shortcuts you made.

 Bote does NOT pollute your system registry.
 Bote doesn't read or write to it at all.

 When you remove the Bote files, it is gone.

---------------------------------
Where is the help file?:
---------------------------------
 The help file is called  botehelp
 It should be in the same directory
 that you start Bote in.
 To use the help press F1
 or click the  ?  button and click
 on the item you want help for.
 
 I'm not a friend of the windows
 help files, they are awful to maintain.

 Eventually an HTML version of
 help may be available.

 There is a nice users guide on the HOME page
 contributed by Toni Martin, it is very useful.

---------------------------------
File Transfers:
---------------------------------
 There are three ways to send files
 1) While chatting, you can drop files and folders onto the chat window.
 2) Use the chat menu item for FILE->SEND.
 3) Drop files onto the message area On the OPEN NEW CONNECTION window.

 The list of files is sorted and sent to your chat partner.
 Your chat partner may then choose to receive the list,
 select the desired files and copy them to their computer.

 
---------------------------------
Configuration:
---------------------------------
 You do not have to restart Bote for the options to take affect.

 Some changes do not affect a call in progress, but will be used
 on any new calls.


---------------------------------
Status Display:
---------------------------------
 Bote 0/0     the normal display when started.
 Bote 2/0     2 active chat sessions.
 Bote 0/5     5 messages.
 Bote 2/5     You 2 active chat sessions and 5 messages.
 Bote 2/+3    You 2 active chat sessions and 3 NEW messages.
 Bote:25 0/0  Bote is active on port 25

 The Bote ICON will flash when new messages arrive.
 The flash will stop after you read your messages .


---------------------------------
Command line options:
---------------------------------
 Various command line options
 all options can use '/' or  '-'


 /p     SET PORT
 Bote listens for TCP/IP messages on port (channel) 54637.
 You can change this with the /p command line option.
 Normally you will not need to set or change this.
 Examples:
 /p54637    (the default)
 /p23       (telnet listener port)
 /ptelnet   (telnet listener port)


 /v#     SET VISIBILITY

 Bote will start up minimized.
 The  left mouse click starts the main menu.
 The right mouse click gives you a menu of all available option.

 If you prefer, Bote can start up and 'live' on the sytem tray as a small icon.
 The  left mouse click starts the 'OPEN NEW CONNECTION' dialog
 The right mouse click gives you a menu of all available option.

 You can change this with the /v command line option.
 examples:
 /v0   Bote minimizes to the task bar. (default)
 /v1   Bote minimizes to invisibility  (Be careful, its really invisible)
       Clicking on the original Bote will restore it to visibility.
       Even though it is not visible, it is running and functional.
 /v2   Bote minimizes to a small icon on the system tray
 
 Bote also uses the 'Run minimized' option at startup.
 so combined with one of the above you can set Bote to
 start visible, or minimized.  The mode it takes when
 minimized is controled by the /v switch.


 /[cenmt]  OPEN NEW CONNECTION
 These will open up the 'OPEN NEW CONNECTION' window
 All of them require that Bote is already up and running.
 If Bote is not up and running, it will be started.

 Each of these options can take a full Bote address
 plus it can also have message text at the end when
 the ',' preceeds it.

 example: bote.exe /tdavid.sce+dbin@sce.de,Hi david!! how are you?
 example: bote.exe /tdbin@david.sce:54637+"David Binette"<dbin@sce.de>,Hi david!! how are you?

 /t[ADDR]    Popup the Talk (open new connection) window.
             but does not automatically start the call
             This is used when you click on the Bote desktop icon
             to signal the already running Bote that you want to Call out.

             An interesting collection of command line options is
             /t /v1 (and set the Run Minimized flag)
    
             Bote would start up invisible, and the only acccess to it
             is by clicking on the desktop icon to make an outgoing chat.
             Of course it is possible to over-ride this by making another
             Shortcut without these options.
  
  The following options all automatically start a connection
  and deliver the text from the specified address on the command line:
 
 /cADDR  Chat
 /dADDR  DynaPost
 /eADDR  Email
 /mADDR  Message
 /nADDR  Note


 example: bote.exe /cdbin@david.sce:54637+"David Binette"<dbin@sce.de>,Hi david!! how are you?

 /i    	SET LOCATION OF INITIALIZATION FILE

 Bote keeps its configuration information in a file called 'bote.ini'
 You can change this with the /i command line option.
 examples:
 /ibote.ini         (this is the default, in the WINDOWS directory)
 /i.\bote.ini       (create and/or use bote.ini in the curtrent directory)
 /ic:\Bote\bote.ini

 When new MESSAGES arrive the icon will 'flash'
 When a CHAT REQUEST arrives a dialog will pop-up and ask if you want to
  accept the chat,
  take a message
  take a Popup Note
  -or-
  refuse the call.

 You can setup Bote to popup, ring, and/or flash the window.
 For more options see the Setup menu.

 While chatting you can press the right mouse button on the chat
 window to set the font and colors according to your preferences.

 FILENAMES

 Bote can process a special type of file called a
 .BOT or .BOTE file (upper or lower case does not matter)
 the contents of the file should be:
 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 full bote address
 Message text
 Message text
 Message text
 Message text
 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 for example a file called testbote.bot could contain:
 TopDog@localhost
 This is a test 
 please do not adjust your set
 repeat
 this is a test

 After creating this file, you can drop it onto the
 Bote ICON or SHORTCUT on you desktop, and it will
 start the 'OPEN NEW CONNECTION' window with the
 specified address and text all ready to go.

 Another possibility is to 'associate' the .bot and .bote
 file types with Bote.  here is how...
 After creating the .bot file on you desktop,
 click on it with the left mouse button ONE TIME.
 that will make it 'selected' it will have the highlight.
 now, press and hold the SHIFT key down and at the same time
 press the RIGHT mouse button one time.  A menu will popup
 wit an item  'Open With...' release all key and Mouse buttons
 and select the 'Open With...' item on the menu in the usual way
 (wy clicking on it with the left mouse button)  
 A box will appear with some programs listed,
 If Bote is not in the list select 'OTHER' and search for Bote
 wherever you installed it.  finally there is a small checkbox
 'Always use this program to open this type of file'
 When that is checked, the association is permanent.
 when it is NOT checked it only operates this one time.


---------------------------------
Web Server:
---------------------------------
 The Bote Mini Web server really is 'mini'.
 It is not stupid or lazy, its just cool about what it will do.
 In fact, it is a fast little server that can serve your web page
 without consuming a lot of computing power.

 And it is secure, there is no worry about wrong access permissions
 or strange configurations, there is only a few settings, the filename
 of the web page, the filename of its image file, and one binary (zip) file.

 It doesn't matter WHAT the person requests, they get either the web page
 The ImageFile or the zip.  If they ask for ANY type of jpeg or gif file they get
 the file you specified in the setup panel for 'image'. 
 Likewise if they ask for ANY web page or text document they get the page
 you specified in the setup panel for 'web page'.
 
 The actual file mappings are, 
 htm, html, txt, text                  -> web file
 gif, jpg, jpe, jpeg, jfif, pjpeg, pjp -> image file
 exe, bin, gz, gtar, tz, z, zip,       -> binary file

 Note that in all cases it delivers the correct content type based on
 the extension of the file that it actually delivers.  With that in
 mind it is possible to have 3 web pages, or 1 web page with 2 images.

 If those filenames don't exist they get a '404 file not found' error.

 When you make your web page you should understand this point:
 it doesn't matter what filename tag you use in the HTML tag, the Bote
 server will ALWAYS return the image file you specified in the setup.

 That's because it wont allow other people to read directory listings
 of your computer.  it just says.. HTML? ok here is the web page,
 You want an image file? jpeg? gif? fine! here it is.

 Lets say that in the setup panel you set your web page file as
 "index.htm", and your image file as "mypicture.jpg"

 and in you "bote.htm" file you have a tag like
 <img src="c:/images/foo.gif">

 They are still going to get "mypicture.jpg", it ignores the filename
 completely and always overrides it with the filename that you specified
 in the setup panel.

 So what happens if you specify 'page2.htm' for the image file?
 well if he asks for any type of image file he always gets the file
 defined for 'image file' in this case it is an html file,  so Bote
 remaps the header to say that it is html text and he gets your second
 page.  Is this strange?  it is certainly not uncommon,  and cgi scripts
 used on commercial sites deliver zips, etc.  its just a type of header
 remapping like others that exist all over the net.

 That sucks right?  wrong. It is very secure and FAST FAST FAST.
 besides, you can have as many links as you want to EXTERNAL sites
 and their browser will fetch those external URL in the normal way.
 
 for example:
 <img src="http://someother.site.com/images/coool.gif">

 Or you could point it to one of those companys that provide web page
 counters like:
 <img src="http://counter.site.com/images/digit.cgi">

 Hey! those addresses aren't real, I just made them up to show that 
 you can do all the things you want from your web page and still not 
 worry about anybody seeing things other than the files you specified.
 
 A new feature was added for version 1.22B that allows you to direct
 all requests to another web page.

 If you enable redirects make sure you enter in a valid URL like
 http://somesite.com/somepage.html

 And if you leave it blank your callers will get a error

500 Internal Server Error
This server is unable to resolve your request.


---------------------------------
Bote On The Web:
---------------------------------

 The bote home page has a public Bote Note Web Server
 Find it at http://www.sce.de/people/dbin/bote/

 Starting Bote from a WEB page is fairly straight forward.
 You must tell your Web Browser how to handle a Bote File Type.

 Here is what you do (For Netscape)
 Start Netscape
 Options -> GeneralPreferences -> Helpers
 Create New Type
   Configure New Mime Type
   Mime Type:             application/x-bote
   Mime Sub Type:                           

   press OK

 File Extensions:  bot,bote
 Action:           Launch the application

 Finally BROWSE for the Bote executable program
 press OK

 ITS DONE!

 now you can include a URL in your page, that looks like
 <a href="CallDave.bot">Gimme a call</A>


 Now thats pretty cool, and fun but its not wildy useful
 because it only works when the person who clicks on it
 has setup their browser to handle the mime type
 application/x-bote
 it is howver very useful in an intranet or corporate
 department where the MIS staff has configured the browsers
 ahead of time for all of the staff.


---------------------------------
Portability:
---------------------------------
 You CAN use telnet to talk to Bote.
 If you have a decent Telnet it should work fine.
 Actually almost any Telnet program will work, including
 UNIX/Linux Telnet and Microsofts' WfWG Telnet.
 I have not tried it from a MAC, but that should also work.

 There are 3 ways to do this, all require that Bote and Telnet
 talk and listen on the same port.

 1) tell Bote the port when you make the call
    example: friend.onthe.net:23
    example: friend.onthe.net:telnet

 2) tell Telnet to use the Bote port   use 54637 on the Telnet command line.
    example: telnet david.sce.de 54637

 3) tell Bote to use the Telnet port   use /p23  on the Bote Command line.
    example: bote /p23

 Normally you should leave the Bote settings as-is and ask your telnet
 friends to contact you on port 54637.  That way Bote callers can find
 you easily too. (see example 2 above)

 Here are some more examples
 Calling Bote from UNIX or LINUX:
                                 telnet BoteUser.bote.site 54637

 Calling Bote from Windows WfWG/w3.11
                                 telnet Boteuser.bote.site 54637

 fairly standard,  chech the manual page for your telnet program
 to see what kind of telnet options are available.  Bote doesn't
 support many,  just enough to convers.


---------------------------------
Diagnostics:
---------------------------------
 Bote has been tested on W95 winsock 1.1 and NT4 winsock 2
 The standard winsock diagnostics are displayed in verbose format.
 The common numeric error codes are translated into their english equivalent.
 If I missed one drop me a mail message or a PopNote and let me know.
 You can send your PopNote to  david.sce.de


---------------------------------
Advanced:
---------------------------------
 You can run multiple copies of Bote *if* they listen on different ports.
 Why would you want to do this?
 (see the section on portability)


---------------------------------
Privacy:
--------------------------------- 
 Bote does not send any secret information.
 Your login name (if you enable it) and your
 IP address are used when connecting to other
 Bote Users.  There is no special code
 installed in Bote that can be used to identify
 registered or unregistered users.

 Bote only connects to the site you specify, 
 and only for the purpose you selected.

 There are two items in the HELP/ABOUT box
 that can be used to contact the author via
 email or HTTP.

 Your POP3 email password can be set in the
 setup menu and it will be writtten to the
 Bote .ini file in an encrypted format.  if
 you prefer to NOT save it just leave it blank.
 Bote will ask you for it when required.
 (when you check your mailbox for addresses)

 The password encryption is not trivial,
 but a determined person could possibly
 unencrypt it with some time and effort.

 Privacy also means excercising your right to
 confidentiality and protecting yourself from
 unwanted intrusions into your personal 
 correspondance.

 Bote offers several forms of data scrambling
 and encryption.  Plaintext is just that, clear
 plain text that can be read easily by anyone
 snooping your connection.  This is the normal
 mode for most chat clients and was originally 
 Botes' only mode. PlainText is NOT encryption.

 All of Bote's encryption levels (PlainText
 is not an encryption) attempt to discourage
 copying, recording or taking screen snapshots
 of the conversation. For this reason several
 menu option are disabled or simply not available.

 LEVEL1  this is a simple scramble that can
 easily be comprimised,  In legal terms this
 can only assure that anyone snooping must make
 a concious effort to decode the data.  Having
 done that alone they may be in violation of
 privacy laws.  The advantages of this method
 are that it is fast, efficient and autosensing.

 LEVEL2  provides a convoluted scrambling and 
 encryption technique based on the principals
 of obfuscation.  The data is embedded in a
 expanded multibyte binary key. This method is
 useful because it requires no exchange of keys.

 LEVEL3 provides a key based encryption method
 that two users must have previously agreed upon.

 LEVEL4 is a work in progress which will be based
 hopefully on the Public/private key encryption
 principles for secure private communication.

NOTE: I am not a professional cryptographer and
  I do not claim that any of the methods used
  are without flaw.  I have simply done my best
  to provide secure private communication between
  you and whomever you choose to communicate.
  There are no backdoors or secret keys or 
  warranties.  If you want truly private
  conversation stand close and whisper softly
  with a several loud radios tuned to white noise
  while encasing yourself in a sound absorbing blanket.
  (-:  personally i''d rather use Bote.


---------------------------------
MultiLingual:
--------------------------------- 

 I don't speak German, French or Spanish
 So most of the translation is bad.
 Please forgive, and help if you want to.

 The Bote Program is already designed to
 handle the four languages listed below.

 English, German, French, Spanish.

 The English version is complete.

 The German version is partially complete
 with the 'botetips.deu' file available.
 The 'botehelp.deu' is a work in progress.

 The French version has 'botetips.fra'
 but to now there is no 'botehelp.fra'

 The Spanish version has botetips.esp
 but to now there is no 'botehelp.esp'


 To provide an alternate language version
 it is only required to translate the english
 version and give it the correct filename extension
 .eng = English
 .deu = Deutsch
 .fra = Francois
 .esp = Espanl


 PLEASE DELETE your existing 'botehelp.'
 and 'botetips.' files.  That way Bote
 can automatically sense the language of
 your PC and use the correct language file.
 
 Bote defaults to English internally
 but most of the program text can be
 displayed in your preferred language.
 
 Normally it is automatic, bote will sesnse your
 current language based on your computer setup.
 
 If Bote is confused, or gets it wrong
 simply copy the desired language file to
 the default file (without the .*** extension)
 
 botehelp           If this exists Bote will always use this
 botehelp.eng       english
 botehelp.deu       german
 botehelp.fra       french
 botehelp.esp       spanish 
 
 botetips           If this exists Bote will always use this
 botetips.eng       english     
 botetips.deu       german
 botetips.fra       french
 botetips.esp       spanish

 Sometimes the German, French, and Spanish versions
 are not up to date or are missing some entries for
 the newer features, in that case Bote may give you
 the English version of that particular tip or help.

---------------------------------
Legal stuff:
---------------------------------

 Copyright 1997, 1998 David J. Binette
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 Bote is a shareware program.

 It has been known to run on Windows95
 OSR1 and OSR2 and NT4

 Bote comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY

 You may use this software over a 30 day time period
 to determine if it is suitable for your needs.
 To use it after that period you must pay for it.
 
 There are no refunds, no support contracts, no
 warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, the
 only person who can decide if Bote is suitable
 for you and your intents, is you.  If it does not
 perform the way you like, or stops performing, or
 causes problems in any way, they are not my problems.
 I accept absolutely no liability whatsoever for any
 damages directly or indirectly related to the use,
 usability or lack thereof no matter how they occur.
 
 To register this software:
 send US$20 check or postal money order
 for each copy of Bote you want to register.
 Payable to:
 David J. Binette
 Box 12 Kootenay Bay
 BC CANADA
 V0B1X0
 
 Your cancelled check is proof of payment.
 
 If you need or want more information
 regarding site licences or discounts
 please contact via email dbin@sce.de
 
 
---------------------------------
Credits:
---------------------------------
 Bote is an original work by David J. Binette
 It is Copyright 1997 David J. Binette ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 My greatest thanks go to Bernd Luevelsmeyer who provided invaluable
 help and comments (and also taught me about Win32 programming)
 Thanks Bernd!


                                          David Binette


---
TCP/IP port numbers are registered with IANA (http://www.iana.org)
port 54637 is currently unassigned.
Standard UNIX and WINDOWS computers have no permanent services on port 54637.
Bote is NOT registered with IANA


hey! Have a Real Good Time

