long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) (01/19/91)
Recently I posted asking how to network two Macintoshes together to exchange files. I received many responses, and thank you very much to all who responded. I love the Net! Here is a summary of what I received. The preferred hardware method to connect the machines is with Phonenet, a product of Farallon. It is a device that plugs into the printer port, and allows the use of regular phone cable (4-conductor) to connect the machines. One supplier mentioned is Micro-Computer Cable Company in Romulus, MI. They sell PhoneNet "look alikes" for $20 a piece. Their phone # is (313) 941-6500. (It is an alternative to the Localtalk connectors from Apple, which do not use phone cable.) Note: it the machines were close enough, some people recommended a straight serial cable (Mac/Imagewriter). Others said there would be "electrical problems". Software methods vary. One option is Public Folder, from Claris (free, and available in the usual places). Public Folder is accessed through the Chooser. I'm told it allows you to make one folder available as a monolithic entity. Therefore, if you want to copy one file, you must copy the whole tree rooted by the public folder (small letters intentional). Oscar is another alternative. It implements a sort of instant in/out box. It is available in the same places where Public Folder can be found. Files placed into Oscar's "out box" are instantly copied to the "in box" on the receiving node (this is what I was looking for, I think). A commercial alternative is TOPS. It apparently implements real file sharing, and remote volume mounting, etc. It was highly recommended, but probably overkill for what I want. It must be purchased for each machine. The current version, 3.0, includes InBox, which allows you to send Email back and forth over the network. SingleShare (Shareware) was also mentioned. It apparently works like Appleshare but does not require a dedicated machine as server. A final option is "peer to peer appleshare" from Information Presentation Techologies at (818) 347-7791. I have no more information on that. Thanks again, everyone. Rich Richard C. Long * long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com * ...!decwrl!mcntsh.enet.dec.com!long * long%mcntsh.dec@decwrl.enet.dec.com