Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!mcgill-vision!snorkelwacker!usc!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!adobe!heaven!glenn
From: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: Laserwriter problems
Message-ID: <271@heaven.woodside.ca.us>
Date: 12 Sep 90 17:06:15 GMT
References: <19982.26e7d86f@merrimack.edu> <1990Sep10.130349.14214@cbnewsc.att.com>
Reply-To: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid)
Organization: RightBrain Software, Woodside, CA
Lines: 51

In article <1990Sep10.130349.14214@cbnewsc.att.com> gpw@cbnewsc.att.com (george.p.wilkin) writes:
>There is a company that makes a bridge adapter for localtalk(appletalk).
>Although they talk about MS-DOS there is NO reason this will not work on UNIX
>or VMS systems that I can see.
>
>Extended Systems 
>6123 Meeker Ave
>Boise, Idaho 83704
>ph  208-322-7575
>fax 208-377-1906
>
>Product name: BridgePort
>
>Description: Allows both PCs and Macs to share a printer. The box
>supports serial and parallel communication(serial two-way). Serial
>speeds upto 19.2K inbound to the box and 57.6K from the box are supported.   

I just ordered one of these boxes, which should get to me in a couple
of weeks.  I'll report back on my findings.  It sounds like the right
sort of solution.  The salesman seemed to think that it would work fine
to share a printer between a Mac network and a NeXT box, which is the
situation that I have.

To add a little to the description, there are three ports on the "inbound"
side and two ports on the "outbound" side.  It looks something like this,
as I understand it:

                                               +---------+
                       +----+                  |         |
NeXT--> RS232 serial ->|    |-> RS232 serial ->| PS      |
    --> parallel ----->|    |                  | printer |-->pages
Macs--> AppleTalk ---->|    |-> parallel ----->|         |
                       +----+                  |         |
                                               +---------+

So the printer is always hooked up to the box, not the network, either
through the serial or parallel port (serial up to 57.6Kbaud).  You can
have your NeXT box hooked up to the front end serial port (at a lower
baud rate, apparently), and your Mac network hooked up to the AppleTalk
connector.  I'm not sure how it decides whom to pay attention to, but
I'll find out.

The product costs $495, which is pretty reasonable if it works like it's
supposed to.

Glenn

-- 
 Glenn Reid				RightBrain Software
 glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us		PostScript/NeXT developers
 ..{adobe,next}!heaven!glenn		415-851-1785