> ...if you want to learn how things work.. and
>communicate with raw sockets and "re-invent the
>wheel" which I find is FAR more educationally
>valuable than modules, you can:

Or, for even MORE of an education, take out that

use Socket;
[download]

line. Then try and get it to run on different platforms! :) At the very least you'll gain an appreciation for the Socket module.

P.S. The open in the code above should have an "or die..." after it.