Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com (02/17/88)
murillo@sigi.Colorado.EDU (Rodrigo Murillo) writes: ->In article <673@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu> landay@cory.Berkeley.EDU (James A. Landay) ->writes: ->>Is there a way to hook to PCs together via the parallel ports? -> ->Check out PC Magazine, January 12, 88 Vol. 7 Number 1. ->There is a whole section on data transfer programs that would meet ->your needs. Not all support parallel file transfer though. Here ->are some that do: -> -> Direc-link (213)377-1640 -> Paranet (613)236-1487 -> File Shuttle (800)663-8066 Thank you Mr. Murillo! Plenty of people are going to check out your info. One thing I don't understand: why don't more packages support parallel? There are good reasons to prefer it over serial: it's faster, one is more likely to have a parallel channel free (every desktop add-on board maker seems to like to throw them in, and laptop makers consider them essential but serial channels an option). Until now, I had assumed that there was some factor I didn't understand that made that approach impossible. Isaac Rabinovitch Disclaimer: Just because I think you're wrong, doesn't mean I don't think you're a fun person! :-)
pjh@mccc.UUCP (Peter J. Holsberg) (02/18/88)
In article <3271@cup.portal.com> Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com writes: | |One thing I don't understand: why don't more packages support parallel? My understanding is that the PC's parallel port is set up by the BIOS to be "output-only". (Of course, port B on that 8255 *could* be reprogrammed to make it an input port, so I'm as puzzled as you!) -- Peter Holsberg UUCP: {rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh Technology Division CompuServe: 70240,334 Mercer College GEnie: PJHOLSBERG Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800
jgray@toad.pilchuck.Data-IO.COM (Jerry Late Nite Gray) (02/24/88)
In article <223@mccc.UUCP>, pjh@mccc.UUCP (Peter J. Holsberg) writes: > In article <3271@cup.portal.com> Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com writes: > |One thing I don't understand: why don't more packages support parallel? > > My understanding is that the PC's parallel port is set up by the BIOS to > be "output-only". (Of course, port B on that 8255 *could* be > reprogrammed to make it an input port, so I'm as puzzled as you!) We were wondering about the same thing a while back in trying to consider how to make a better connection to the PEECEE. One of the things that turned up was that the parallel ports in many so-called compatibles have slightly differently implementations as far as reading is concerned. Reading a port MAY be possible but it frequently requires changing a jumper or cutting a trace or two to get it to work. I don't know the exact details of this (I personally didn't look into the problem). Maybe someone else out there can fill in the details. --------------- Jerrold L. Gray UUCP:{ihnp4|caip|tektronix|ucbvax}!uw-beaver!tikal!pilchuck!jgray USNAIL: 10525 Willows Road N.E. /C-46 Redmond, Wa. 98052 (206) 881 - 6444 x470 Telex: 15-2167