FAQ for alt.2600, version 2.0
corrections, whining, etc... to this address. (jvarley@netcom.com)
1)  What is alt.2600?
        Alt.2600 is a Usenet newsgroup for discussion of material relating
to 2600 Magazine, the hacker quarterly.   It is NOT for the Atari 2600
game machine.  Len@netsys.com created the group on Emmanual Goldstein's
recommendation.  Emmanuel is the editor/publisher of 2600 Magazine.
Following the barrage of postings about the Atari machine to alt.2600, an
alt.atari.2600 was created to divert all of the atari traffic from
alt.2600.  Atari 2600 people are advised to hie over to
rec.games.video.classic.
2)  What is 2600 Magazine's Internet address?
        2600@well.sf.ca.us
3)  What does "2600" mean?
        2600Hz was a tone that was used by early phone phreaks (or
phreakers) in the 80's, and some currently.  If the tone was sent down the
line at the proper time, one could get away with all sorts of fun stuff.  
A note from Emmanuel Goldstein:
        
"The Atari 2600 has NOTHING to do with blue boxes or telephones
or the 2600 hertz tone.  The 2600 hertz tone was simply the first
step towards exploring the network.  If you were successful at 
getting a toll call to drop, then billing would stop at that
point but there would be billing for the number already dialed
up until the point of seizure.  800 numbers and long distance
information were both free in the past and records of who called
what were either non-existent or very obscure with regards to
these numbers.  This, naturally, made them more popular than
what were either non-existent or very obscure with regards to
these numbers.  This, naturally, made them more popular than
numbers that showed up on a bill, even if it was only for
a minute.  Today, many 800 numbers go overseas, which provides
a quick and free way into another country's phone system
which may be more open for exploration."
4)  Are there on-line versions of 2600 available?
        No.
5)  What are the snail mail (U.S. Postal Service) addresses for 2600?
        ADDRESS ALL SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE TO:
                2600 Subscription Dept
                PO BOX 752
                MIddle Island  NY  11953-0752
        ADDRESS ALL LETTERS AND ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS TO:
                2600 Editorial Dept
        ADDRESS ALL LETTERS AND ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS TO:
                2600 Editorial Dept
                PO BOX 99
                Middle Island  NY  11953-0099
6)  How much does it cost for a subscription to 2600?
        Yearly subscription:  $21 individual, $50 corporate.  U.S. Funds
Only.  Overseas--$30 individual, $65 corporate.
7)  I can't find 2600 at any bookstores.  What can I do?
        Subscribe.  Or, let 2600 know via the subscription address that you
think 2600 should be in the bookstore.  Be sure to include the bookstores
name and address.
8)  Why does 2600 cost more to subscribe to ($21 for four issues) than
to buy at a newsstand ($4 per issue)?
to buy at a newsstand ($4 per issue)?
  EG:  We've been selling 2600 at the same newsstand price since 1988
  and we hope to keep it at that price for as long as we can get away
  with it. At the same time, $21 is about the right price to cover
  subscriber costs, including postage and record keeping, etc. People
  who subscribe don't have to worry about finding an issue someplace,
  they tend to get issues several weeks before the newsstands get them,
  and they can take out free ads in the 2600 Marketplace.
9)  What are some common tones?
[dilger@toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu (Michael B. Dilger)]
Dial tone          350+440    continuous
Ringback (Normal)  440+480    2.0s on, 4.0s off
Ringback (PBX)     440+480    1.5s on, 4.5s off
Busy signal        480+620    0.5s on, 0.5s off
Congestion (toll)  480+620    0.2s on, 0.3s off
Reorder (local)    480+620    0.3s on, 0.2s off
Receiver off-hook  1400+2060  0.1s on, 0.1s off
Reorder (local)    480+620    0.3s on, 0.2s off
Receiver off-hook  1400+2060  0.1s on, 0.1s off
                   +2450+2600 
Nickel Signal      1700+2200  0.060s on
Dime Signal        1700+2200  0.060s on, 0.060s off X2 
Quarter Signal     1700+2200  33ms on, 33ms off, 5 times repeating
DTMF matrix. The tone of the button is the sum of the column and row tones.
         1209 1336 1477 1633
 
     697   1    2    3    A
     770   4    5    6    B
     852   7    8    9    C
     941   *    0    #    D
9)  What is PGP?  What are those "BEGIN PGP KEY" things at the bottom of
     articles?
          You can get the latest PGP via anonymous FTP at
          soda.berkeley.edu.
From: Kevin Martin <cannon@panix.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1993 11:22:56 -0500 (EST)
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a free program written by a gentleman
named Phil Zimmerman.  It's been the subject of more than a little
controversy on a couple of counts.  One, Phil used (his own
implmentation of) an algorithm which is claimed under a patent in
the USA only, called RSA (for Rivest Shamir Adelman, the three
inventors). This is the best method widely known to implement "Public
Key" cryptography.
Y'see, the trick to using encryption is, "How do you exchange keys with
other people?"  If you have a secure channel to do so, why not just use
that channel for ALL communications and skip the encryption step!?
With public key methods, you have a public key and a private key;
you can publish the public key and it still only works with messages

-- 20:39 --alt.2600-- 1 MORE --help:?--82%--
With public key methods, you have a public key and a private key;
you can publish the public key and it still only works with messages
YOU encrypt with the private key.  Or, anyone can use your public key
to send you a message, and only you can read it.  Perfect!
The only catch is proving that your public key really came from
you.  The Internet is pushing something called PEM (Privacy Enhanced
Mail), or RIPEM, where the public keys are held by a central
authority in an official directory.  PGP is based on the concept that
YOU take responsibility for collecting public keys from the people you
want to deal with.  No Big Brother aspect that way.... and no back door,
as in the Clipper chip proposal.
That's the other problem that has Phil in some folks' doghouse; it seems
that encryption technology is technically regarded as MUNITIONS -- there
are US export controls on all software that implements good encryption.
Phil did not export PGP, but he did publish the first generation
of it on the Internet.  (Oops.)  The documentation for PGP explains all
this perfectly.

