Since it's launch as a public access UNIX system in 1983, M-Net has offered completely free shell accounts to users from all over the world.
Several decades later, you can still get a free shell account, with full Access to various compilers and very few restrictions.
Many shells available (bash, csh, tcsh, etc)
Ability to write and compile C programs
Learn how to write shell scripts
As a user of M-Net, you'll also have access to the BBS, a discussion system with over a hundred conferences on all varieties of topics from sports to tv to programming.
Outgoing network access - excluding the lynx web browser - has been restricted to supporters.
Unfortunately, we have to be a good net citizen, and offering complete internet access to everyone at no charge simply isn't possible for our organization.
How to access M-Net
You'll first need to create a new user (free shell) account. You can do this by using telnet or our web-based secure shell client. To create an account, log in as "newuser" and follow the prompts!
"M-Net is a public-access UNIX system based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, owned by Arbornet which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. M-Net is run entirely by volunteers and funded by various supporters.
A former long time user of M-Net published a brief history of conference systems in the Ann Arbor area, which includes information about the early days of M-Net (started in 1982) and Arbornet (founded in 1984). It also details the private sale of M-Net, which led to the founding of Grex, and the resale of M-Net to a group that merged M-Net with Arbornet in 1992. His name was Jan Wolter
M-Net and his free shell can be accessed via telnet/SSH and via the web. Before accessing our conference system via the web, you must first log in using one of the other methods in order to create a new free shell account."
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Free shell URL: | http://m-net.arbornet.org/ |
| Disk Quota: | 1 Mb |
| Operating System | FreeBSD |
| Hardware | N/A |
| Interests: | Learning about free shells and UNIX systems |
| Services | bash / tcsh / C / BBS |
| Background process | No |
| Compilers: | C |
| Internet Connections | N/A |
| IRC access | Yes, but only for paying/donating users |
| Others: | America's oldest public access UNIX system |