Unfortunately, I’ve been too busy to return to my #MARCHintosh 2024 Project 1 (archiving my MacViruses article).
This week has been a lot calmer on the GlobalTalk front for me compared to the prior couple of weeks.
However, the network has not infrequently exceeded 60 networks online, which I don’t think anyone would have predicted at the start of the month, so I think it’s worthwhile doing a broad brushstrokes overview of what it is.
GlobalTalk includes networks/zones in 12 timezones, from -8 to +11 UTC.
The range of technology/devices is truly impressive – real and emulated computers and printers, with the emulated devices being on Windows, macOS and Linux.
The client systems run the whole gamut of Apple device history – Apple IIGS’, Lisas, Newtons, Mac 512Ks, then through all sorts of 68k, PPC (including clones), Intel and Apple Silicon machines…they all feature in one way or another. Even Apple’s first Unix system, A/UX has joined in the fun.
Plus our Windows and Linux brethren through, for example, Window NT4(!), and netatalk-based Linux hosts providing file and print services on “traditional” desktops and laptops and also Raspberry Pis. An SGI IRIX system has even made an appearance!
We’ve got physical switches and routers, old computers with new additions or versions (BlueSCSI, PiSCSI, FloppyEmu, modern Lisa clones).
Emulated systems in QEMU, Basilisk II and mini vMac.
Printers from Apple, HP, Brother, Oki, Kyocera, and modern thermal “receipt”-style printers and “Print to PDF” services – so dot-matrix, laser, thermal and virtual printers (PDF and PostScript files) are all represented. Some are EtherTalk, some are LocalTalk, some are lpr/IP printers, but between them they span 40 years of printing technology.
And all that heterogeneity is handled with (relative) aplomb by the Apple Internet Router (AIR) software from 1993, with client devices from roughly 1984 through to 2024!
In my own situation, I copy files to my virtualised netatalk Linux server from my macOS Sonoma iMac, and those files are then visible to the emulated Quadra 800 running AIR.
My Brother colour laser printer (which is not AppleTalk capable) is shared via netatalk, and I’ve had almost 25 print jobs sent from all sorts of old Macs so far.
My intention is to leave my GlobalTalk and netatalk servers running once #MARCHintosh 2024 concludes, and I do hope others will also leave their setups online and available via the network.
I’m hoping to get a bit more done on other aspects of my #MARCHintosh projects tomorrow, and will update again then if I do.
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