LC 575 networking possibilities...

[LC_575]

Any at all? Or is $20 on a comm slot Ethernet card going to be a waste of money? I just want to network it w/ my Windows pc's for file sharing - running up and down stair with floppy disks in hand is getting old now.

I want to network it with a Windows 7 computer.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Windows 7 does not support AppleTalk, nor does Mac OS X 10.6, so normal file sharing wouldn't work. With ethernet in the 575, you should be able to run an FTP server in Windows 7 and use an FTP client (ex. Fetch) on the 575. You could also connect directly to the internet with the 575 and download things that way.

 

[PowerPup]

You could also use Transmit 1.6 for 68k and PPC.

Or you could even use DAVE 2.5.2 (a SMB/windows file-sharing for mac.) Works fine for Mac OS 9 and under. Though I haven't tried it with a computer using Vista or 7.

PM me if you'd like a copy of the installer.

 

[Bunsen]

There's this method as well:

viewtopic.php?t=1393

 

[LC_575]

@Bunsen: a very interesting, but complicated methoed. Besides I'm not going to set up a UNIX computer simply to act as a relay between Windows and Mac, although I could if I wanted to :beige: .

I think i'd prefer the FTP method, especially if I could simply direct the server to one folder on the 7 machine where I have all of my downloaded mac software.

How would I go about doing this? Also, outside of Fetch, what software/extensions do I need for my LC, which runs 7.5.5.

 

[PowerPup]

If you're running the server on the windows machine, you don't need anything else for your LC575 other than a client, such as Fetch or Transmit.

Well, there's always Stuffit Expander 5.5

 

[techknight]

or you can do what I do. use basiliskII on the main PC.

problem is, I have to use XP. cant use 7, as it doesnt support the networking extensions that came with basiliskII. but XP does and i can share between it and the basiliskII client.

 

[register]

And still sitting in some quiet corner of the intarwebs you might find a Star Gate file transfer kit. Just follow the instructions to braid your own Mac-PC null modem cable. Once installed (pretty simple setup) you might forget how to swap floppies.

P.S.: this will work only for you, if you have a free serial port on each side (RS422/LocalTalk port and RS232/communication port).

P.P.S.: I did not try this on any Win7 equipped machine. Would a software designed for WinXP be executed under Win7, including permission to access some port directly?

 

[LC_575]

@register an very cool sounding suggestion, but more or less impossible because my PC and Mac are on two different floors.

BTW, is there any way i could share a printer to the Mac?

 

[Dennis Nedry]

I believe that you can generically print to most IP printers using LaserWriter 8 in the chooser. I think it's not too hard to make a PPD file to specify the specs of your printer if you want it to be extra fancy.

Accessing OS X shared printers sounds unlikely, but there are probably other ways. i.e. If your printer is USB and your router has USB printing features, maybe that could be helpful.

 

[register]

Some ten metres of shielded wire should not harm the RS232 connection. If you have a piece of shielded cable of sufficient lenght at hand, just try it. Or you could even use a set of wireless port expanders for RS232 devices (but with a sufficient budget I would opt for ethernet using Dave software to connect the machines).

With some low budget workaround you might even print using Star Gate:

1. Save the print job as a PostScript file into the outgoing folder of the Mac.

2. Pass the PostScript file from the incoming folder of the PC to a printer or some PostScript capable interpreter.

This can be automated using software to watch the incoming folder of the PC to permit remote printing without user interaction. To accomplish such tasks on the Mac I used the software Folder Watcher, in combination with other software like TScript, KeyQuencer and AppleScript. For the PC side some similar software should be available, as well. Suggestions are welcome.

 

[LC_575]

My current printer is a HP OfficetJet 6110, hooked up to a Vista pc via usb. I doubt an actual driver method for the mac exists. Also, null modem cable is impossible as it would have to be at least 50 ft long.

Is there any way I could force StarGate into emulating across an Ethernet connection?

PS: Soon I will be getting a new, old printer - An HP laserjet 4L. Can I do anything w/ it's parallel port?

 

[Cory5412]

What I always personally recommend is to find an older laptop (some halfway decent Pentium III or P4m machine) and install Debian on it. Then, do apt-get install netatalk and then also get either samba or ssh and use one of those methods to connect modern computers to it.

You can either put the old laptop right next to the mac and use a localtalk to ethernet bridge or you can put ethernet in the 575.

This will give the Mac access to all of the space available on the Debian machine in a way that works extremely well and can be relatively fast, so it may even reduce the need to buy a second hard disk for the 575.

Also! It can be run in Virtual PC or VMWare Player or VirtualBox on your existing PC if you either don't have an older machine around, or don't want to bother setting it up. Debian will offer decent performance while virtualized, even with relatively low ram. (you could probably set the latest debian to use 96 or 128mb of ram if you were *only* running netatalk and either samba or ssh on it)

 

[LC_575]

@Cory5412 That idea sounds really good, as it would allow me to share virtually any printer w/ the Mac. I assume that a combination of Netatalk and Samba would allow the Mac to use the Vista printer, or I could simply hook up my 4L to the Linux machine.

I have an older test computer (actually once my main computer) that I could set up for this, but I'd prefer to use Ubuntu, simply because I have experience with it.

 

[LC_575]

OK, I'm currently looking at a Comm Slot II Ethernet card online - will it work in my LC 575's Comm Slot?

 

[register]

I will be getting a new, old printer - An HP laserjet 4L. Can I do anything w/ it's parallel port?

Yes, the Macintosh will be able to drive this printer even directly, as long as you have:
1. An RS422-parallel port adapter (like the cable from a PowerPrint set).

2. An appropriate software driver. This could be either

a) the driver provided with the PowerPrint set

B) the PostScript raster image processing software ("RIP") TScript. Preferred choice because of superior printout quality, several useful features to support vector graphics output and also the option to share the printer with other Macs in a LocalTalk network.

c) other RIP software that might be available, like Birmy PowerRip.

This solution works for very many parallel port connected printers, except newer "Win only" printers with proprietary Win driver, not supporting/emulating one of the common printer languages like PCL.

 

[LCGuy]

OK, I'm currently looking at a Comm Slot II Ethernet card online - will it work in my LC 575's Comm Slot?

No, it must be an original CSI card. Comm Slot II cards are designed for PCI based systems - the 6360, x400/x500 series systems as well as the TAM. CSI and CSII cards are not interchangeable, they are not electrically or physically compatible.

CSI cards that will work in your LC575 were used in LC/Performa 580s, LC/Performa/Quadra 630/640 series machines, as well as the Performa 52xx/53xx/62xx/63xx series (except 6360), so try and look for a card from any of those machines.

 

[register]

Sonic Systems, Inc., produced such Ethernet cards with the number BD-070Rev A printed onto the pcb (white letters on the rear end of the card).

 

[Gorgonops]

Regarding printing:

(snip)

B) the PostScript raster image processing software ("RIP") TScript. Preferred choice because of superior printout quality, several useful features to support vector graphics output and also the option to share the printer with other Macs in a LocalTalk network.

c) other RIP software that might be available, like Birmy PowerRip.

@Cory5412 That idea sounds really good, as it would allow me to share virtually any printer w/ the Mac. I assume that a combination of Netatalk and Samba would allow the Mac to use the Vista printer, or I could simply hook up my 4L to the Linux machine.
I have an older test computer (actually once my main computer) that I could set up for this, but I'd prefer to use Ubuntu, simply because I have experience with it.

Linux has a perfectly fine Postscript processor available, "Ghostscript", and it can be easily set up to autofilter incoming print jobs. (I'm fairly certain Ubuntu sets up CUPS to magicfilter Postscript out of the box, but I'm not 100% positive. You may have to manually add a package or tweak the CUPS config.) If you hook the LaserJet up to a Linux machine that has Ghostscript filtering enabled then you won't need to fiddle with any software on the Mac at all, just use the Laserwriter driver.