Welcome!
Welcome to the EazyLink2 User Guide. This is displayed when you have selected the Help > User Guide menu item from the desktop application. You may also have arrived here through our project wiki navigation system. The words EazyLink and Eazylink2 are used interchangeability throughout this document.
This user guide is written for all the Desktop versions of the EazyLink. Where necessary, specific details of desktop operating system features will be mentioned by displaying the OS icon.
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This user guide is being written at the moment, while we work on the Beta releases. We anticipate to have this work completed when EazyLink2 has reached final release of V1.0 . |
Feedback is most welcome, to help us improve EazyLink
History & Introduction
In 1987, there were many computers, but no established standard to connect them together, unlike today with the internet. The Z88 connected to other computers , using a few commands for data transfer using its using the RS-232 serial port to connect with a cable to the Desktop Computer. Data transfer was achieved using its own Imp-Export program. BBC Cambridge Computer produced BBC and PC Link by Cambridge and the which included the cable and software to run on these computers. Other computers were supported Amiga, Nimbus and QL (just to mention a few) were supported by third parties.
Transferring files using this is Imp-Export is reliable, but it is slow, limited in functions, and needed both keyboards, Z88 and the other computer to be used at the same timerequires the user to have access to the Z88 and Desktop keyboards. Larger memory devices and the use of directories needed more commands. Cambridge bought out
PC Link II and Mac Link. These required and the following programs require an additional program for to be run on the Z88 which was . This is supplied on a 32K EPROM pack , but unlike Imp-Export, all commands were or a Flash card. Commands are sent from the PC or Desktop Computer. It was used with the PC and Mac.
Eazylink introduced faster transfer, additional commands, character translation was done on the Z88 during the transfer eliminating the need to conversions as a separate operation. It was only supported on the PC running Windows 98 until Windows xp. There were attempts to use it with the Mac, but these were not successful.Eazylink2 with Imp-Export integration has and was retired in April 2014 together with Windows xp.
Eazylink2 has been completely re-written for the Desktop. Computers running different operating systems, Windows 7 and above, Mac and Linux are supported. Transfer speeds between them and the Z88 are now higher than were achieved before. can be used. Previous software protocols, Imp-Export and PC Link II allows the user to start transferring files straight away. The restricted transfer speed of 9600 baud on the standard Z88 has finally been broken by using OZ 4.5. The theoretical maximum speed of 38400 baud has now been achieved.
This user guide is organised in pages of topic.
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