{"id":2539,"date":"2014-07-23T19:45:48","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T17:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/?p=2539"},"modified":"2016-07-06T14:17:37","modified_gmt":"2016-07-06T12:17:37","slug":"the-25-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/?p=2539","title":{"rendered":"The $25 Network"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days one can network a bunch of computers for $25 without breaking much of a sweat, since most if not all computers these days come with a network port right there on the motherboard, and if it’s a notebook there will be wi-fi right there as well.<\/p>\n

But back in 1987 networks were a big deal. Arcnet<\/a> came out in 1982 and Ethernet was standardized in 1983 — using almost-a-centimeter-thick coax cables with the delightfully named “vampire tap<\/a>” connecting stations to the backbone. Yes, we’ve come a long way.<\/p>\n

So being able to network two or three machines for $25 was a Big Deal. At around the same time you could get two Ethernet adapters and a cable<\/a> from LANtastic for $699.<\/p>\n

How? Point-to-point serial cables, with one machine acting as a hub in three-machine installations. According to the documentation<\/a>, this is good for 80 feet at full speed (115 kbit\/s). This and some very clever DOS software from D. Jindra and R Armstrong, calling themselves Information Modes<\/a> and operating from a drawer in Texas<\/a>. All drives (which in 1987 meant 360k to 1.2Mbyte floppies, and maybe a 20Mbyte hard drive somewhere) and printers could be accessed from all the machines in this network.<\/p>\n

It was magic, I tell you. Kids of today, they don’t believe a word of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n