Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc:17650 comp.sys.mac:18866
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!labrea!sri-unix!garth!walter
From: walter@garth.UUCP (Walter Bays)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Hooking PC's to AppleTalk??
Message-ID: <1130@garth.UUCP>
Date: 1 Aug 88 18:29:26 GMT
References: <102@sickkids.UUCP>
Reply-To: walter@garth.UUCP (Walter Bays)
Organization: INTERGRAPH (APD) -- Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 26

In article <102@sickkids.UUCP> gw@sickkids.UUCP (CFI/Graham Wilson (977-5450) [RICFI7921Z]) writes:
>I am looking for information on products that allow me to hook AT's and XT's
>into an Appletalk network.

TOPS (Sun Microsystems) is the product for you.  You can share not only
printers, but also files.  It also provides text-to-Postscript
translation for PC applications which lack Postscript capability.

Problems:  PC's don't have enough memory for networking and any large
application.  Mac's stay on the network, while PC's come up on the
network, grab a file, and go back off.  PC's do have enough memory to
run applications and print simultaneously, though Ventura Publisher is
stretching it.  PC applications were not written for networking.
Postscript-capable applications assume theirs is the only machine using
the network, and re-initialize the printer accordingly.  Mac
applications (usually) are more cooperative and leave the Apple
initialization alone.  With one or more PC's on the network, printing
will be somewhat less stable than in a Mac-only network.  Occasionally
a Mac will re-initialize the printer - no problem.  Sometimes you'll
have to power the printer off and back on - still better than swapping
cables every time you print.
-- 
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