Re: Networking Apple II'ss with each other and for Internet?

[apple2pd@garp3.icaen.uiowa.edu (ground.ecn AppleII Librarian)]

In article <WCyH7.83472$Gh2.25394147@news2.rdc1.bc.home.com>,
Al Todd <toddaj@home.com> wrote:
>
>One of my project ideas from many years ago was to use the Apple II 16 pin
>game connector inside the Apple II (not the external 9 pin game connector)
>to create a network capability for these computers. This game port has
>output capability with the annuciator soft switches as well as input ability
>with the game push buttons. With this I/O capability you can create a simple
>serial interface that could be the basis of an Apple II network, without
>additional hardware or the use of a slot.  In fact this feature is the only
>really useful item detailed in the original Apple Red Book. It is mostly a
>software solution so it becomes more of an intellectual progamming problem
>rather than a hardware interfacing problem. Definition of protocols,
>handshaking, collision detection and avoidance all have to be delt with. If
>memory serves me I think Don Lancaster mentioned in one of his articles,
>that this inbuilt serial capability is very fast, if  handled efficiently
>with machine language code. Where this idea could go is anyones guess, but
>it would require very little hardware, a couple of Apple II's and some time
>to work through the details. If it were successful, it would show, again,
>just how far ahead of the times the original Apple II was in 1977.
>

Nostalgia:  It is doable for simple networking, at least.  Dave Lyons did
this for his high school (West High School, Iowa City, IA) in the
early-mid 80's.  A room of Apple II computers sharing one or two serial
printers through a simple serial interface using the 16-pin IO port.  (At
least that is how I remember it.)  

  --Steve
  
-- 

 --Steve  (apple2pd@ground.ecn.uiowa.edu)