Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!gatech!dcatla!mclek From: mclek@dcatla.UUCP (Larry E. Kollar) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Amiga networking puzzle Message-ID: <19518@dcatla.UUCP> Date: 2 Jun 89 21:28:01 GMT References: <88G002rZ2c1g01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> <8198@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> <9658@super.ORG> Reply-To: mclek@sunb.UUCP (Larry E. Kollar) Distribution: na Organization: DCA Inc., Alpharetta, GA Lines: 39 In article <9658@super.ORG> rminnich@super.UUCP (Ronald G Minnich) writes: >it is a shame, amiga has been in the right standard set from the very >beginning, i.e. tcp/ip from Ameristar. But because of the >weirdo-voodoo Mac-style networks out there everyone thinks the problem is >the Amiga ... sigh. AppleTalk is hard to beat for ease of installation, though. No screwdrivers need apply; just plug the network box into the back of the computer, hook up the cables, and start using it. A bunch of tech writers* can set it up in 10 minutes. At $50/connection, it's the only bargain Apple ever offered. If that's voodoo, go ahead and hex me! Compare with Ethernet, especially on IBMs: set the DIP switches on the card, open the computer, install the card, and put the lid back on the computer. OK, now for the cable. You have to tap in at a certain spot for each station for the transceiver (or do you use an LNI instead?). Maybe a T-splice for thin Ethernet; I haven't looked too close. Now, you do something called "tuning" the network. This isn't voodoo, it's just plain black magic! Now, how do you connect your PostScript printer to it? It has to be attached to someone's computer, borrowing CPU cycles to serve everyone else (or dedicate a machine as a print server, for even more $$$$). Finally, see how much it costs and say to yourself, "do we really need 10 Mbps?" >p.s. Just say to yourself, over and over, 'i hate appletalk'. You will >feel much better. It's hard to hate something so cheap and easy. AppleTalk is what got the Mac's foot in the office door. Yes, the performance is inferior. Yes, it's a "weirdo" protocol. On the other hand, it's what LANs should have been in the first place. I was happy to see the announcement for an Amiga AppleTalk card; it'll get more Amigas into the art departments of the world (see? we can do this fantastic line art *and* get to the LaserWriter). *No slur intended against tech writers; I'm one myself. On the average, we're just more interested in getting our work done than in having the "best" or "most efficient" network. -- Larry Kollar ...!gatech!dcatla!mclek If potatoes aren't computers, why are there potato chips and potato bugs?