nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) (03/29/91)
In article <1991Mar28.235814.8000@rick.doc.ca> andrew@calvin.doc.ca (Andrew Patrick) writes:
I remember some discussion in this group a while ago about Xircom LAN
adapters.
Perhaps someone would do me the favor of telling Andrew about Xircom,
as I am unable to do so at this moment...
--
--russ <nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu> I'm proud to be a humble Quaker.
It's better to get mugged than to live a life of fear -- Freeman Dyson
I joined the League for Programming Freedom, and I hope you'll join too.andrew@calvin.doc.ca (Andrew Patrick) (03/29/91)
I remember some discussion in this group a while ago about Xircom LAN
adapters. Of course, I didn't pay attention to it at the time, but now
there are some laptops around and their name has come up in connection
with a "Pocket LAN Adapter".
Apparently, these things plug into the parallel port of the laptop and
are available for either coax or UTP. What is the net wisdom on the
Xircom adapters? What are the other products with these features we
should be looking at?
--
Andrew Patrick, Ph.D. Department of Communications, Ottawa, CANADA
andrew@calvin.doc.CA
"The interface IS the program."lanmaint@nssdcb.gsfc.nasa.gov (Dave Yoest) (03/29/91)
In article <NELSON.91Mar28224002@sun.clarkson.edu>, nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) writes... >In article <1991Mar28.235814.8000@rick.doc.ca> andrew@calvin.doc.ca (Andrew Patrick) writes: > > I remember some discussion in this group a while ago about Xircom LAN > adapters. > >Perhaps someone would do me the favor of telling Andrew about Xircom, >as I am unable to do so at this moment... > >-- >--russ <nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu> I'm proud to be a humble Quaker. >It's better to get mugged than to live a life of fear -- Freeman Dyson >I joined the League for Programming Freedom, and I hope you'll join too. Mr. Nelson (Without whom Packet drivers would probably not exist) claims (claimed) that XIRCOM obtained his code under the conditions of the GNU license, based their own packet driver on his code, and then refused to release the driver source code into the public domain (clearly a violation of the distribution conditions.) Because of this action Mr. Nelson suggested that a boycott of XIRCOM is in order. This is just a re-statement Russ's original complaint, as I understood it. I do not know the full facts myself nor do I know for sure If XIRCOM did as Russ claims. (Am I protecting myself legally?). Because I work as a government contractor, I am unable to support Russ's boycott against a product. We must submit all competetive products as sources when requesting a product procurement. I feel that it would be unethical to do otherwise. If I needed to purchase pocket lan adapters, XIRCOM would be considered without bias as would any other vendor acceptable to the procurement section. I personally support Russ's position outside my work hours as I agree with his philosophy and appreciate all the work he has done in support of the Packet drivers. Dave Yoest LAN Section Supervisor Allied Aerospace/Bendix Field Engineering NASCOM/Telecommunications Branch Code 543.8 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Md. 20771 USA DYOEST@ZAPHOD.GSFC.NASA.GOV DYOEST@128.183.43.16
geoff@hinode.East.Sun.COM (Geoff Arnold @ Sun BOS - R.H. coast near the top) (03/29/91)
Quoth lanmaint@nssdcb.gsfc.nasa.gov (in <4670@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov>):
#In article <NELSON.91Mar28224002@sun.clarkson.edu>, nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) writes...
#>In article <1991Mar28.235814.8000@rick.doc.ca> andrew@calvin.doc.ca (Andrew Patrick) writes:
#> I remember some discussion in this group a while ago about Xircom LAN
#> adapters.
#>Perhaps someone would do me the favor of telling Andrew about Xircom,
#>as I am unable to do so at this moment...
#Mr. Nelson (Without whom Packet drivers would probably not exist)
#claims (claimed) that XIRCOM obtained his code under the conditions
#of the GNU license, based their own packet driver on his code, and
#then refused to release the driver source code into the public domain
#(clearly a violation of the distribution conditions.)
#Because of this action Mr. Nelson suggested that a boycott of XIRCOM
#is in order.
#
#This is just a re-statement Russ's original complaint, as I understood
#it. I do not know the full facts myself nor do I know for sure If
#XIRCOM did as Russ claims. (Am I protecting myself legally?).
#[...]
#I personally support Russ's position outside my work hours as I
#agree with his philosophy and appreciate all the work he has done
#in support of the Packet drivers.
[Insert maximum-strength non-prescription disclaimer here.]
While I agree that Xircom appears to have screwed up in this respect, I
find unacceptable the idea that because of this they should be
boycotted forever. A boycott or similar action is usually undertaken
with the aim of persuading someone to change something (a law, a
product, a policy, whatever). I have asked Russ before what he actually
wants Xircom to do: i.e. what action by Xircom would cause him to
rescind his call for a boycott. I haven't seen any reply.
I've worked with the folks from Xircom on a couple of projects, and
have found them enthusiastic and reasonable people to deal with. I am
inclined to attribute their actions to an over-casual reading of the
GNU copyleft, possibly followed by excessively cautious legal advice.
(I know that our legal group won't touch GNU with the proverbial pole.)
Even if lawyers are involved, I would have thought that some reasonable
compromise could be arrived at. This shouldn't be cause for a lifelong
vendetta...
And let me echo that comment about the work Russ has done. Everyone here in
the PC-NFS group really appreciates it. [No disclaimer needed here.]
-- Geoff Arnold, PC-NFS architect, Sun Microsystems. (geoff@East.Sun.COM) --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Sun Microsystems PC Distributed Systems ... --
-- ... soon to be a part of SunTech (stay tuned for details) --bin@primate.wisc.edu (Brain in Neutral) (03/30/91)
Well, I believe part of the original question was what other products are there besides Xircom, which no one has addressed. There are at least two other laptop (parallel port) LAN adapters that I know about. One is by D-Link (714/455-1688); another is by IQ Technologies (206/483-3555). There's another, I think, but I can't remember the company's name. It starts with an A -- Artecon? Acc-something? Paul DuBois dubois@primate.wisc.edu
cws@FTP.COM (Cris Shuldiner) (04/01/91)
Well, I believe part of the original question was what other products
are there besides Xircom, which no one has addressed.
There are at least two other laptop (parallel port) LAN adapters that
I know about. One is by D-Link (714/455-1688); another is by IQ
Technologies (206/483-3555). There's another, I think, but I can't
remember the company's name. It starts with an A -- Artecon? Acc-something?
Paul DuBois
dubois@primate.wisc.edu
I believe the company you are thinking of is Accton Technology.
Unfortunately, I don't have an address or phone number for them.
Cris Shuldiner Technical Support
cws@ftp.com FTP Software, Inc.
Ph: (617) 246-2920 Fax: (617) 245-7943
---------------------------------------------------------------------------SYST8107@ryerson (Ken Woo) (04/02/91)
The other is from Accton Technology Corporation, 46750 Fremont Blvd., #104, Fremont, CA 94538, (415)226-9800. We use the Xircom token-ring and Ethernet adapters and are very satisfied with both.
pmoore@hemel.bull.co.uk (Paul Moore) (04/09/91)
We use the xircom adapter for thin coax an its works fine (yes it does plug into the //lell port). We found that it is slower than a real ethernet connection but in practise it is still fast enough for general use . I think we found thatr it was about 2/3 the speed when tested under load. -- !---------------------------------------------------------------! ! Paul Moore, Bull HN UK, Maxted Rd,Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7DZ. ! ! Phone:(44) 442 232222 Fax:(44) 442 234084 ! ! pmoore@hemel.bull.co.uk "a smile, a song and a core dump" ! !---------------------------------------------------------------!