[comp.sys.atari.st] parallel<->ethernet wanted

hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) (07/13/90)

In article <12245@asylum.SF.CA.US> romkey@asylum.SF.CA.US (John Romkey) writes:
>In article <1884@murdu.oz> pjr@murdu.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Peter Rayner)
>asks for a parallel port to ethernet adapter.
>
>Try Xircom. They manufacture an ethernet adapter that plugs into uni-
>and bi-directional parallel ports. They also make token ring and
>arcnet adapters. Recent packages include a packet driver, which should
>work with most popular freely available and commercial TCP/IP's for
>PC's.

This sounds like a slick little device, anyone know any more about it?
Or ST ethernet products in general? I remember talking to Mike Schmal
at Atari about an official Atari ethernet product a year or so ago, but
I haven't heard anything about it since.

I know there are a few ethernet products available now. It may be a good
idea to come up with an ST equivalent of the PC Packet Driver interface.
I certainly don't expect that all these boards are programmed the same way.
--
  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
  one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip
	if one of those data bits happens to flip,
		one million data bits stored on the chip...

jfbruno@rodan.acs.syr.edu (John Bruno) (07/13/90)

In article <1990Jul13.060245.23140@math.lsa.umich.edu> hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) writes:
>In article <12245@asylum.SF.CA.US> romkey@asylum.SF.CA.US (John Romkey) writes:
>>In article <1884@murdu.oz> pjr@murdu.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Peter Rayner)
>>asks for a parallel port to ethernet adapter.
>>
>>Try Xircom. They manufacture an ethernet adapter that plugs into uni-
>>and bi-directional parallel ports.
>
>This sounds like a slick little device, anyone know any more about it?
 
 The Xircom comes in two flavors, thick and thin ethernet. Since the original
IBM PC Standard (which everyone, or course, blindly follows...) does not allow
input from the parallel port, they had to use the printer status lines, like
READY, PAPER OUT, etc.. (I don't have documentation in front of me). I'm not
sure whether or not you can input thru the data lines of the parallel port 
with the ST, but this device doesn't do it anyway.  I don't see any reason it 
wouldn't work on an ST, if they had ST driver software for it. Considering the 
ST market, I'd be amazed if they had one.

---jb
P.S. -
  Xircom
  22231 Mulholland Hwy, Suite 114
  Woodland Hills, CA  91364
  (818) 884-8755
  FAX: (818) 884-1719

>[...]
>--
>  -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
>  one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip
>	if one of those data bits happens to flip,
>		one million data bits stored on the chip...