ardent-blue
Experienced Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2015
- Messages
- 479
Adaptec made an external SCSI connected Modem in '88 or so. Our tech overlords have decided to limit the knowledge of it so that the mere commoners won't go nuttier than a chocolate chip cookie under a full moon.
It was sold to go with a Mac Portable. It was actually produced and sold [unlike some clone products]. There was mention of a driver diskette for IBM compatibles that was in the works. I'd like to get pictures of the PCBs and the driver disk [Mac and IBM, I'm not bigoted]. I am sure it could be done cheaper and faster with today's chips.
Edit: No, Adaptec has no mention of it under networking or Macintosh back in '96 [Internet Archive], so I'd suspect it was not a thing by that time.
BYTE 1988-09 Ethernet Meets Mac with SCSI
Besides becoming the floppy and hard disk controller interface of choice for both Apple and PS/2 systems, the SCSI has now become a possible local-area-networking port for industry-standard 10-megabit-per-second Ethernet connectivity. Adaptec has introduced the Nodem, which uses the SCSI port of Apple computers this way. That means the Nodem, in the form of a 5- by 8- by 2-inch peripheral, can automatically enhance the transmission rate between Apple machines 40-fold over what was previously possible with the 230K-bit-per-second LocalTalk cabling system, while retaining Apple's connectivity operating software, AppleTalk. Another advantage is that the Nodem doesn't use any internal slots, so you can share information more easily among the Mac Plus (which has no slots), the Mac SE (which has one slot), and the Mac II (which has five slots) . Up to eight different devices can daisy chain on the SCSI bus for connectivity with the three most popular Ethernet transmission media— coaxial, thin coaxial (Cheapernet), and twisted-pair copper. The Nodem architecture is based on Adaptec's I/O controller ICs, rather than traditional Ethernet chip sets. And while Macintosh system disks are available now, the company says IBM-compatible system disks should be available next year. Price: $545 for coaxial; $595 for Cheapernet or twisted pair. Contact: Adaptec, Inc., 691 South Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, (408) 945-2520.
MacUser June 1990 ARE YOU READY FOR ETHERNET?
It was sold to go with a Mac Portable. It was actually produced and sold [unlike some clone products]. There was mention of a driver diskette for IBM compatibles that was in the works. I'd like to get pictures of the PCBs and the driver disk [Mac and IBM, I'm not bigoted]. I am sure it could be done cheaper and faster with today's chips.
Edit: No, Adaptec has no mention of it under networking or Macintosh back in '96 [Internet Archive], so I'd suspect it was not a thing by that time.
BYTE 1988-09 Ethernet Meets Mac with SCSI
Besides becoming the floppy and hard disk controller interface of choice for both Apple and PS/2 systems, the SCSI has now become a possible local-area-networking port for industry-standard 10-megabit-per-second Ethernet connectivity. Adaptec has introduced the Nodem, which uses the SCSI port of Apple computers this way. That means the Nodem, in the form of a 5- by 8- by 2-inch peripheral, can automatically enhance the transmission rate between Apple machines 40-fold over what was previously possible with the 230K-bit-per-second LocalTalk cabling system, while retaining Apple's connectivity operating software, AppleTalk. Another advantage is that the Nodem doesn't use any internal slots, so you can share information more easily among the Mac Plus (which has no slots), the Mac SE (which has one slot), and the Mac II (which has five slots) . Up to eight different devices can daisy chain on the SCSI bus for connectivity with the three most popular Ethernet transmission media— coaxial, thin coaxial (Cheapernet), and twisted-pair copper. The Nodem architecture is based on Adaptec's I/O controller ICs, rather than traditional Ethernet chip sets. And while Macintosh system disks are available now, the company says IBM-compatible system disks should be available next year. Price: $545 for coaxial; $595 for Cheapernet or twisted pair. Contact: Adaptec, Inc., 691 South Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, (408) 945-2520.
MacUser June 1990 ARE YOU READY FOR ETHERNET?
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