Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!ukma!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!braner From: braner@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Moshe Braner) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Networking, ST's and Spectre 128 Summary: when there's a will there's a way Message-ID: <6424@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> Date: 29 Sep 88 01:02:24 GMT References:<3602@druhi.ATT.COM> Reply-To: braner@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Moshe Braner) Organization: Cornell Theory Center, Cornell University, Ithaca NY Lines: 26 [claims the ST cannot connect to Appletalk through the cartridge port since it has no capablity to interrupt the CPU...] I am not trying to defend the *stupid* design of the cartridge port in the ST (when it could easily have been a full expansion slot), BUT: A device there that would connect the ST to Appletalk (or any other network of similar speed) could have some reasonable amount of RAM so that it could buffer incoming (and outgoing) data. The CPU could poll it every once in a while, often enough to prevent overflow of the buffer, and do a quick transfer of the data into the CPU's RAM if there is anything in the buffer. Outgoing data could be deposited in the buffer and then sent at the network speed by the controller on the cartridge. Sort of like pseudo DMA :-) Of course this method means more hardware on the cartridge, meaning higher cost. But not THAT much. The pure-software solution used in the Mac (typical of Apple) has its own disadvantages too, as the previous poster indicated. A solution using the DMA port is of course more elegant. What's new in the field of ST networking through the MIDI ports? - Moshe Braner (In 39 years we'll see the promise-LAN, so hang in there :-)