VRMLWorld.net

[admin]

I know it has been a long time coming, however I'm glad to announce that
you can now download a copy of the ABNet 2 server for Windows.

This version has an enhanced java server that can support an unlimited
number of worlds from one ABNet server. The sample html pages work
with the Flux X3D / VRML player. Blaxxun and Cortona versions
coming soon.

There are are two versions of the client, a Java Applet and an ActiveX
version. New for this release, the ActiveX version is written in
C++ and overcomes a lot of issues related to java runtimes,
sandboxes etc. This release is distributed as a Windows install
making it easier to get started. You will need to be running
Windows 2000, XP or 2003 to use it. The server is written in java
so you need to have Sun Java 1.4 or newer installed to be able
to host your own ABNet server. Your clients don't need java
installed if they use the ActiveX client.

Try it out and let me know what you think

http://kimballsoftware.com/abnet

-rick

[Mcfly]

Hi Rick,
I installed it, the process looks good. When I started it,
it asked for javaw.exe , which I found in macromedia folder.
I havent tested it yet. Do I have to be online to share a world?
also, i see the white box in the systems tray , but it's not clickable.

mcfly

[admin]

javaw.exe is the non console/windowless version of Sun java.
That way you don't have a command window hanging around
the whole time it is running.

Yes, unfortunately I don't have a good icon for the server yet.
It is just a simple white box. If you right click on the white
box in the system tray it has a "stop abnet server" menu item.

The default for the starting the server is not to report status
to vrmlworld.net. However if you let people know your ip address
thay can still connect to your 3d world server. With this first
public release, I just wanted to get it out there and see what
problems people encounter.

I need to create a world entry and password in the vrmlworld.net
database to have your world actually show up on the home page
list. I'd be glad to do that if you are interested.

The easiest way to test the server is to click on Start/ABNet/HTML
menu. Try double clicking the index.html file. It should connect
to your ABNet server. Open a couple of them and you can
chat with yourself. To let someone else test with you, you have
to have a web server with the sample html pages accesible.

[Mcfly]

I was able to turn an online .x3d file into a chat room, by making my home pc a server. Great!!!
Can I share a world that resides on my home computer?

[admin]

There are multiple scenarios you can use to run ABNet.

1.) ABNet Server + Web Server + ABNet webpages on your home comptuer
2.) ABNet Server on your comptuer Remote WebServer + ABnet webpages
3.) ABNet Server on your computer .. you email the ABnet webpages to your friends

Option 1 is the simplest because you just tell your friends the ip address of your computer and they can connect to your worlds. With Option 1 there are two sub options:

Option 1.a ABNet client is a Java applet
Option 1.b ABnet client is the ABNet.ll ActiveX control.

Option 2 and 3. are more complicated because everyone must have the ABnet.dll ActiveX control installed and you must modify the webpages so they connect to the IP address of your ABnet server running on your computer.

I'm planning on writing something up on the forums that discusses this. Also, I'm in the process of modifying the current ABNet.dll so that it does most of the work.

I'm planning on a new release for next Monday that will have modifications
to the ABNet.dll along with new web pages that support a Bitmanagement Contact version.

[Mcfly]

Hi,
I have
1. webserver with my .x3d and .wrl files
2. abnetserver on home pc
So, per Rick, I changed the ip address on the fluxax.html page to my own.
I use this link to get my ip:
http://vrmlworld.net/myip.php

I tested the fluxax.html and was able to speak to myself via two chat windows. However, I didn't see avatars, though the chat worked excellently.

I then tried to enter via index.html but it didn't work.

It's great though, looking forward to next realease.

[admin]

I've uploaded build 002 of the server and client. This version
includes sample files for both flux and bscontact.

I'm using the Null Soft Installation Software for this version.
It should cause less problems than the InstallShield version
I created before.

You can find the files here:

http://kimballsoftware.com/abnet/

Enjoy

-rick

[vnomad]

Greetings, and well met!

This looks very interesting.

I'll be playing with the server to see what happens

See you around.

-Dagfinn