Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!umd5!trantor.umd.edu!louie
From: louie@trantor.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: serial vs. parallel, was:(Re: Amiga as workstation)
Message-ID: <2708@umd5.umd.edu>
Date: 11 May 88 04:26:40 GMT
References: <3896@gryphon.CTS.COM> <1959@sugar.UUCP> <628@flatline.UUCP>
Sender: news@umd5.umd.edu
Reply-To: louie@trantor.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos)
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Lines: 25
Keywords: Now now, can't you look at the big picture?

The advantages that I see for parallel printers over serial printers on
the Amiga are:

	* No bogus XON/XOFF flow control to try to deal with.

	* It *really* is faster dumping bitmap graphics; at least with the
	  hardware we have to work with on the stock amiga.

	* If I had a serial printer, I wouldn't have anywhere to plug in
	  my modem!

Actually, the only one which really bugs me is a standard, well supported
way to to flow control.  If we could standardize on CTS/RTS or *something*
I'd be happy.

As it is, I have an RS232 switch, with three different devices hooked up
to it right now.  And I still have to swap the parallel printer port 
between my NEC PC-PR105A printer and the Quadram Quadjet color printer
from time to time.

I need more (DMA driven) ports real bad!



Louis A. Mamakos  WA3YMH    Internet: louie@TRANTOR.UMD.EDU
University of Maryland, Computer Science Center - Systems Programming