This article was posted to the Usenet group alt.hackers in
1995; any technical information is probably outdated.
First post
Article: 7691 of alt.hackers From: alexlh@yourchoice.nl (Alex Le Heux) Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: First post Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 17:16:00 +0100 Organization: Your Choice BV Lines: 39 Approved: YES! Message-ID: alexlh-2004951716000001@saturn.yourchoice.nl NNTP-Posting-Host: saturn.yourchoice.nl Status: RO
Ok, my first post...
ObHack:
Here at work we are in the process of replacing our old Novell system with
a Sun. The programmers working on the new system aren't quite finished yet,
but we are already using part of the system for daily work.
The Novell prints all it's stuff on a big HP LaserJet IIISi, which would
later be connected to the Sun. Meanwhile the (low volume) printing from
the Sun would go to an Apple Laserwriter. Using PCL5. We thought. As it
happens the Apple and the LaserJet don't agree on what PCL5 is.
Unfortunatly it didn't work. "No problem I think, the LaserJet has a
parallel and a serial port, and the Novell uses the parallel, so I'll just
run a cable up there, and plus the Sun in the serial port." Again, no
cigar.
Turns out the (old) laserjet listens to EITHER the parallel OR the serial
port, and has never heard of auto-switching.
After messing about with printer switches, 15 m parallel printer cables,
CAP and lots and lots pages with garbage the solution arrived in a flash
of inspiration...
Take an old diskless Novell station, connect it to
the sun with a serial cable. Configure the Sun so
that it prints to that serial port, fire up Telix
(good old Telix the terminal program) on the station,
tell Telix to capture to LPT1, which will send it
to the Novell server, which in turn prints it on the
LaserJet.
--
The right to read or watch anything I want is NOT a point open for
discussion. It is my inalienable right.