8-bitters and multi-whatever

[Roy J. Tellason]

On Wednesday 12 September 2007 13:48, Liam Proven wrote:
> The problem is, they were all more or less proprietary. It's a shame
> some kind of standardised serial-port system wasn't adopted; even
> really low-end kit like a Speccy with I/F 1 had a serial port.

That was the problem with an awful lot of stuff back then...

> Just before Ethernet took over, I built a couple of LANs based on
> SAGE's MainLAN, a serial-type system, and I used a lot of Mac-to-Mac
> LocalTalk LANs - although actually in the '80s, Farallon PhoneNet took
> over quickly. Same computer-side electronics & connectors, so 100%
> compatible, but used telephone cables (so was cheaper) and carried a
> lot further.

Phone connectors?  That's a *wonderful* idea!  Way cheaper than the DIN stuff 
used for MIDI typically,  easier to make the cables for,  and with two pairs 
of wire you can have both directions at once in one cable and set of 
connectors.  I like it!

-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
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Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James 
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