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From: SECRIST%OAK.SAINET.MFENET@LLL-MFE.arpa
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Networking PCs, MACs, Apples, etc.
Message-ID: <5224@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 5-Nov-86 20:48:37 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.5224
Posted: Wed Nov  5 20:48:37 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Nov-86 00:53:58 EST
Sender: news@brl-smoke.ARPA
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From:    <SECRIST%OAK.SAINET.MFENET@LLL-MFE.Arpa>   (Richard C. Secrist)
Date:    Wed,  5-NOV-1986 20:44 EST
To:      INFO-MICRO@BRL-VGR.ARPA
Message-ID: <[OAK.SAINET.MFENET].649279C0.008F7858.SECRIST>
Header-Disclaimer: I don't like my headers either !
X-VMS-Mail-To: MICRO

1) Recently DEC announced a thinwire Ethernet <--> real Ethernet box.
   (DEMPR or something like that.)

2) Like someone said, the Apple ][ class machines can jump onto Appletalk 
   with the Macs and hence onto Ethernet.  But perhaps that's thinwire 
   Ethernet - but that's no problem for a DEMPR/VAX.

3) I have seen PCs use DEC's DECnet-DOS product to talk over 3Com thinwire
   Ethernet boards - through the DEC box - and into a MicroVAX II doing
   virtual terminal services.

Sounds like you've got a network to me if the software is any good.  I can
vouch for DECnet DOS - it's wonderful (if you know DECnet you'll feel
right at home !).  I dunno about the Appletalk stuff, particularly for a
///... but if you can run the ///'s in ][ emulation mode when you need to
do net-stuff you ought to be able to do something. Remember that Apple ///
SOS is compatable with ProDOS-8, so you can always walk a disk over to a
][-class machine.  Maybe another approach is if Apple made a card for
their (now defunct ?!) "school bus" for the /// ?!  Then again, if all 
you're looking for is file transfer there's always Kermit - and that's a 
good bit cheaper than all of this Ethernet hardware.

Other things aside - if you live on a PC and play with VAXen DECnet DOS
is a MUST even if you don't net yourself to everything else.  
Alternatively you can use DECnet DOS through a serial port (abiet much
slower) and without any PC-hardware investment -- besides DECnet DOS is 
comparitively cheap (~$300).  [Flame: pity that you can buy DECnet for a
wimpy processor like the 8088 so inexpensively when you can't get it on
one of the 68K-class machines.]

rcs
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