laser-lovers@uw-beaver (03/21/85)
From: tektronix!ogcvax!verdix!sbq@uw-beaver.arpa I would be very interested in hearing about how Brian Reid (or anyone else) connects an Apple LaserWriter to a Vax running Unix 4.2 BSD. What hardware is required, what software packages are required, and who sells this stuff? [[Editor's note: As an earlier set of messages noted, you can purchase a software package called TranScript from Adobe to perform this function. No additional hardware is needed---you connect the VAX to the RS-232 port on the LaserWriter. My understanding is that the software has been in beta test and will start shipping within a few days, if it hasn't started already. Contact Adobe at (415)852-0271 for more information. This raises an associated matter. If any of the TranScript beta sites are reading this list and are free to comment on the software, I'd welcome hearing your comments, either to the list or directly to me (furuta@washington or uw-beaver!furuta). I am particularly interested in hearing how well the software interfaces with the printcap mechanism, how acceptable the troff, etc., output is, and how fast the printer is driven. I hear rumors that the Macintosh's interface to the LaserWriter seems a little slow under some circumstances since it implements Quickdraw in PostScript and therefore simulates it in the printer. I'd like to know how the performance is in the quite different VAX environment. --Rick]]