4 ms·

I have a faint memory back in the day of using the parallel port to do super speedy file transfers (compared to serial at least). I wonder what insanely low ban

I have a faint memory back in the day of using the parallel port to do super speedy file transfers (compared to serial at least). I wonder what insanely low bandwidth I was using by todays standards…

TacticalCoder 2y ago
> I have a faint memory back in the day of using the parallel port to do super speedy file transfers (compared to serial at least). In the mid to late 90s, I was sharing my main 486's dial-up connection with an old clunky laptop using PLIP: https://docs.kernel.org/networking/plip.html https://docs.kernel.org/networking/plip.html So my brother and I could both use Netscape at the same time, on two different computers. Felt like the future! P.S: actually the laptop was just running an X (back then not even Xorg yet) and displaying a Netscape window running on the main, beefier, PC. All over PLIP : )
fragmede 2y ago
LapLink! https://www.cambus.net/file-transfers-via-the-parallel-port-on-dos-using-laplink/ https://www.cambus.net/file-transfers-via-the-parallel-port-... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laplink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laplink
- afavour 2y ago
  Ah! You got me down the right rabbit hole. I think I was actually using INTERSVR and INTERLNK but yes, must have been a LapLink cable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_DOS_commands#INTERSVR_and_INTERLNK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_DOS_commands#INTERSVR_...
  - mysterydip 2y ago
    That was magic for me the first time I transferred a file between computers. I didn't have to re-type my code! What a time to be alive.
    - hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
      Before Arduino and the analog Square reader, the parasitic-powered serial port wireless X-10 Firecracker seemed magic level to me. https://www.x10.com/products/cm17a https://www.x10.com/products/cm17a
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
  The serial null modem cable with 4 ends commands you!
dfox 2y ago
There is the cable used for things like LapLink and PLIP, that was inherently bitbanged. Then in theory with ECP you could connect two PCs with straight-thru cable and get something like 500Mbps with DMA support from that, on paper it was faster than both FireWire and USB HS. Whether it ever really worked is another question.

TacticalCoder 2y ago

> I have a faint memory back in the day of using the parallel port to do super speedy file transfers (compared to serial at least). In the mid to late 90s, I was sharing my main 486's dial-up connection with an old clunky laptop using PLIP: https://docs.kernel.org/networking/plip.html https://docs.kernel.org/networking/plip.html So my brother and I could both use Netscape at the same time, on two different computers. Felt like the future! P.S: actually the laptop was just running an X (back then not even Xorg yet) and displaying a Netscape window running on the main, beefier, PC. All over PLIP : )

fragmede 2y ago

LapLink! https://www.cambus.net/file-transfers-via-the-parallel-port-on-dos-using-laplink/ https://www.cambus.net/file-transfers-via-the-parallel-port-... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laplink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laplink

afavour 2y ago
Ah! You got me down the right rabbit hole. I think I was actually using INTERSVR and INTERLNK but yes, must have been a LapLink cable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_DOS_commands#INTERSVR_and_INTERLNK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_DOS_commands#INTERSVR_...
- mysterydip 2y ago
  That was magic for me the first time I transferred a file between computers. I didn't have to re-type my code! What a time to be alive.
  - hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
    Before Arduino and the analog Square reader, the parasitic-powered serial port wireless X-10 Firecracker seemed magic level to me. https://www.x10.com/products/cm17a https://www.x10.com/products/cm17a
hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
The serial null modem cable with 4 ends commands you!

dfox 2y ago

There is the cable used for things like LapLink and PLIP, that was inherently bitbanged. Then in theory with ECP you could connect two PCs with straight-thru cable and get something like 500Mbps with DMA support from that, on paper it was faster than both FireWire and USB HS. Whether it ever really worked is another question.