ethernet on macs

[e.mkeene]

> As a Post Script, LowEndMac states that the earliest PowerMac, the
> 6100 introduced in 1994 had a built-in ethernet port.

I can personally confirm this fact. i bought one of the earliest 6100's 
and it did in fact have an ethernet port built in. As a matter of fact, 
that port permits the 6100  purchased in Dec. 1994 to connect to my 
first generation graphite airport base station purchased in 2001 but 
introduced in 2000. Since the 6100 lives on the 3rd floor of my 
townhouse and my cable modem lives on the second floor along with my
G4 QS 2002 purchased late may 2002, my G4 graphite 500 DP and my ibook 
700, purchased 2/03.

I am able to choose which computer on which floor I want to use when 
and how. This is very important because my laser printer which weighs 
at least 75 pounds also lives on the 3rd floor right beside my 6100 
connected to it by the 6100's ether net port. BTW, I didn't buy the 
laser printer until 1999 (laserwriter IIG). When I need or want to use 
the laser printer, I can do so via my 6100, ABS, & airport cards from 
the 2nd floor withour even moving from the couch if I am using the 
ibook.

I also have a clamshell 300 mhz with both an ethernet and an airport 
card which also can access my laser printer and the 6100 as desired. If 
and when I find it necessary, I will dig out the ethernet hub and 
connect the ABS to it along with the 6100 and the laser so I can print 
directly to the laser instead of going thru the 6100.

In the meantime, I can also use the cable modem with the iMac DV (via 
an airport card) which lives on the 1st floor. The iMac was bought in 
Jan 99. So I have Macs with ethernets ranging from 1994 through 2003 
vintage all connected with a slightly long in the tooth wireless device 
via brand new hubs, routers, cable modems, ancient printers, new 
printers, old scanners, new scanners, old cd burners, internal 
superdrives, etc. All of this hodge podge is happy to work with each 
other and with me. I do have to pamper the older stuff with specific 
cabling at times but hey, for the price, i ain't complaining.

I also have been able to run the original versions of MacWrite, 
AppleWorks, MacPaint and quite a few esoteric software apps circa OS 6 
(the ice age in computer time) on the G4s and the icebook as well as 
the 6100 and the clamshell. I have not had to declare any of my vast 
collection of software, hardware, peripherals, cables and oddities 
obsolete yet. As a matter of fact, I have also adopted some castoffs 
from other Mac friends who are more discriminating or tidy.

I dare you to find a PC person who can make the same claims. Yes, I 
paid a king's ransom for some of my hardware back in 94 but it was 
still the same price I paid for my first A2e in 84. The QS and the 23" 
monitor in 2002 were bargain basement prices by those standards. But I 
am still using all of that stuffl BTW, I was able to convert all of my 
A2e floppies to 3.5 inch diskettes and keep on using the original 
AppleWorks 1.0 for the A2e on the 6100 PMac when I got it. I am still 
using those same files on all the new stuff with out having to retype a 
single word and without having to scan and OCR to get the text into 
newer stuff.

The first version of Print shop I got for the PMac 6100 still works on 
my new stuff also. It was my first and major graphics app on the A2e. I 
learned how to print and register and re-print several times in order 
to get multiple different fonts, images or both using the first version 
of Print Shop for Mac ever written for the A2+. I did scan a few of 
those into the newer stuff so I could update without recreating them. 
That first copy of Print Shop cost $50, AW 1.0 for A2e was $250 was the 
first integrated suite for any computer on the market at the time which 
is why i bought the A2e instead of the Mac 128mb which was just a few 
months old at the time. If you consider that I have used it off and on 
for 20 years, is it really that expensive after all? I still have my 
A2e and my stepdaughter's AIIgs.



Mac Computer Show and Sale December 13th
Info at www.wap.org