The main problem with booting the Alto off Ethernet is that it uses 3 Mb/s Ethernet, which is incompatible with "modern" Ethernet hardware. We can't just plug a

The main problem with booting the Alto off Ethernet is that it uses 3 Mb/s Ethernet, which is incompatible with "modern" Ethernet hardware. We can't just plug an Ethernet cable into the back of the Alto. Back then, Ethernet used a "vampire tap" that clamped onto a coaxial cable with spikes that pierced the cable to make the connection. And you could only make connections at special spots on the cable (marked with black stripes) in order to avoid signal reflections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_tap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_tap The Living Computer Museum in Seattle is building a 3 Mb Ethernet gateway, which potentially would allow network booting.