The drawback of the print server on a local area network has always been that while it meant that by sharing it among a large number of users, the cost of a top-of-the-range printer could be justified, users had to traipse over to the thing to get their work, and for a lot of applications, a cheap printer close by would be the preferred option. Now, reports Microbytes Daily, Intel Corp has come out with a $700 NetPort server box that attaches to a Novell Inc NetWare thin-wire Ethernet network, supports up to two printers and doesn’t require a dedicated personal computer to control the printer. It contains processor, memory, and Ethernet interface circuitry, serial and parallel ports and can be installed anywhere on the net. It supports print spooling as well as directcommunications and stores the server software in Flash EPROMs for easy remote updating. And Dayna Communications Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah has a $500 network protocol converter for Apple Computer Inc’s LocalTalk which looks to Ethernet like an Ethernet printer and to an Apple Laserwriter like a LocalTalk network, so that LocalTalk printers can be used on Ethernetworks.
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