Very few things can reproduce the experience of using an actual, true-to-life character-based dumb terminal. These terminals (in my case, an AT&T 705) have this nostalgic "legacy" feel to them.

When I use my terminal, placed conveniently near my bed so I can log on, read mail, and MUCK while half asleep, I realize that I'm using my UNIX box the way UNIX boxes were used in the glory days of hackerdom... through a character based monochrome terminal, over a serial line. And though 19200 baud may feel slower than an xterm on my machine's console, it's just an enjoyable experience.

Three wires out of four (in a length of category 3 telephone cable) connect the terminal to the host... Transmit, Receive, and Ground. Flow control is XON/XOFF; who needs RTS/CTS when you're dealing only with text?

Perhaps the state of mind I'm in when using this terminal contributes to that. The fact that I'm half asleep or tired, and the room is completely dark... And the comfortably dim amber text is the only thing visible in my field of vision... Or maybe I'm just a hopeless nostalgia freak that needs to get a life. }:)

Too bad you can't node from a text terminal... Well, you can with lynx, but it feels really clunky.

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