usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) (02/10/89)
One of our research groups would like to use one Apple LaserWriter from 2 MAC SE's and one IBM-PCXT. They would like to use TOPS. What is needed at a mimimum to do this? All we want to do is print. No shared file systems or print spooling. How does the PC TOPS Flash Card compare to a PC/Appletalk card? What is NETPRINT? Do you really have to have this to get at the printer? Can MS-Word and a fully configured TOPS network node reside in 640K? Thanks. John Mireley Dept. of Chem. MI State U.
sysop@stech.UUCP (Jan Harrington) (02/12/89)
in article <1765@cps3xx.UUCP>, usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) says: > > One of our research groups would like to use one Apple LaserWriter > from 2 MAC SE's and one IBM-PCXT. They would like to use TOPS. > What is needed at a mimimum to do this? All we want to do is print. > No shared file systems or print spooling. > One copy of TOPS for each machine (PC or Mac); one card for each PC. Appletalk connectors for each and necessary cabling. How does the PC TOPS Flash Card compare to a PC/Appletalk card? Use either one. Both support the TOPS software. Flash Card may be cheaper. > > What is NETPRINT? Do you really have to have this to get at the > printer? NETPRINT will take non-postscript output and make it postscript before sending it to the printer. If you've got an application that generates its own postscript (e.g., PageMaker, Word, Works, Word Perfect), then you don't need it. Just substitute the port on the Appletalk board for the printer port. However, for applications that don't generate postscritp, you will need it. > Can MS-Word and a fully configured TOPS network node reside in 640K? > Yes. Jan Harrington, sysop Scholastech Telecommunications UUCP: husc6!stech!sysop or allegra!stech!sysop ******************************************************************************** Miscellaneous profundity: "No matter where you go, there you are." Buckaroo Banzai ********************************************************************************
akk2@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Atul Kacker) (02/13/89)
In article <914@stech.UUCP> sysop@stech.UUCP (Jan Harrington) writes: > How does the PC TOPS Flash Card compare to a PC/Appletalk card? > >Use either one. Both support the TOPS software. Flash Card may be >cheaper. The last time I checked, the Apple PC/Appletalk card did not allow you to have two serial devices in addition to the card. The card took over one of the serial interrupts. So, if like me you already have a modem on one serial port and a mouse on the other, you can't use the Apple PC/Appletalk card. This is stated very clearly (hah) on page 110 of their manual. I feel that this should be on the box so that the user is aware of it *BEFORE* they buy the card. On the other hand, the TOPS FlashCard coexists just fine with two other serial devices. In fact that's what I have on the machine I am using now. One other point. The software from TOPS will work on *any* AppleTalk card, while the software from Apple will *only* work with Apple's PC/AppleTalk card. Case in point - Apple's PC AppleShare client software. >NETPRINT will take non-postscript output and make it postscript before >sending it to the printer. If you've got an application that generates >its own postscript (e.g., PageMaker, Word, Works, Word Perfect), then you >don't need it. Just substitute the port on the Appletalk board for the >printer port. However, for applications that don't generate postscritp, >you will need it. I'm not very sure about this. My understanding was that NETPRINT was required if you wanted to print to a networked printer, even if your application program generated PostScript output. >> Can MS-Word and a fully configured TOPS network node reside in 640K? >> > Yes. MS-Word, maybe, but not much else. The other programs that I know will not work with a fully configured TOPS node are Lotus Agenda and PC-TeX. TOPS does not currently allow you to put their memory resident software anywhere else in expanded or extended memory. There are some cards that do work with TOPS to give you some additional memory just above 640K that TOPS will use. One such card is called HYCARD from RYBS Electronics I believe. These cards will not give any added functionality on some machines. TOPS FlashCards come with a program that you can run on your machine to see if purchasing a HYCARD would be in order. -- Atul Kacker | Internet: akk2@uhura.cc.rochester.edu | UUCP: {ames,cmcl2,decvax,rutgers}!rochester!ur-cc!akk2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mithomas@bsu-cs.UUCP (Michael Thomas Niehaus) (02/13/89)
In article <852@ur-cc.UUCP>, akk2@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Atul Kacker) writes: > In article <914@stech.UUCP> sysop@stech.UUCP (Jan Harrington) writes: > > How does the PC TOPS Flash Card compare to a PC/Appletalk card? > > > >Use either one. Both support the TOPS software. Flash Card may be > >cheaper. > > The last time I checked, the Apple PC/Appletalk card did not allow > you to have two serial devices in addition to the card. The card took > over one of the serial interrupts. So, if like me you already have > a modem on one serial port and a mouse on the other, you can't use > the Apple PC/Appletalk card. This is stated very clearly (hah) on page > 110 of their manual. I feel that this should be on the box so that > the user is aware of it *BEFORE* they buy the card. Apple's AppleTalk PC card DOES allow you to use two serial devices in addition to the card. With version 1.1 of the software, they stopped using interrupts, instead going to a method of polling the card. To keep the card from inter- fering with any else, turn switches 1,2 and 3 off on the card. > One other point. The software from TOPS will work on *any* AppleTalk > card, while the software from Apple will *only* work with Apple's > PC/AppleTalk card. Case in point - Apple's PC AppleShare client software. Usually this is not a problem. If you are going with AppleShare PC you would be looking specifically for software to connect you to an AppleShare file server. TOPS' software does not do that. > Atul Kacker | Internet: akk2@uhura.cc.rochester.edu > | UUCP: {ames,cmcl2,decvax,rutgers}!rochester!ur-cc!akk2 Michael Niehaus Apple Student Rep Ball State University UUCP: ..!{pur-ee,iuvax}!bsu-cs!mithomas AppleLink: ST0374
n65j@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU (02/18/89)
In article <852@ur-cc.UUCP> akk2@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Atul Kacker) writes: >In article <914@stech.UUCP> sysop@stech.UUCP (Jan Harrington) writes: >> How does the PC TOPS Flash Card compare to a PC/Appletalk card? The FlashCards work just fine for us. The software from TOPS is excellent. I've also had good results from their technical support via Compu$erve. >>NETPRINT will take non-postscript output and make it postscript before >>sending it to the printer. If you've got an application that generates >>its own postscript (e.g., PageMaker, Word, Works, Word Perfect), then you >>don't need it. Just substitute the port on the Appletalk board for the >>printer port. However, for applications that don't generate postscritp, >>you will need it. > >I'm not very sure about this. My understanding was that NETPRINT was >required if you wanted to print to a networked printer, even if your >application program generated PostScript output. > The TPRINT program which comes with TOPS/DOS will send a file to a printer on the network, including an Apple LaserWriter. If your application can create a "print file" containing Postscript code (MS Word can) then you can do without NETPRINT if you're willing to exit your application (or Esc-Library- Run inside Word) to send the file to the network printer. NETPRINT is a TSR which provides spooling and LPTx emulation, at the expense of an extra 70K or so of memory. Another comment: You don't need to load the TOPS file-sharing software in a PC in order to use TPRINT. You only need the ATALK.SYS device driver (20K?) or the ALAP and PSTACK replacements of ATALK.SYS in TOPS 2.1. This leaves ample room for running MS Word if you have 640K total and aren't loading other memory-hungry TSRs. (I discovered this empirically. The TOPS manuals don't mention this valuable feature.)