Subject: hardware needed for real terminals..or consoles

From: Mike& Candy List <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 13:57:13 -0700

one thing I hope to do when I get acquainted(future,hopefully near )is 
to open consoles so mt family has, in effect simultaneous access to the 
computer so I can make upgrades nto one computer rather than buy and 
maintain several since hardware tends not to be cheap, I'm trying to 
think(and save up) ahead of time when that day comes what is needed
for each terminal?

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From: Buddha Buck <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 15:04:58 -0400

> think(and save up) ahead of time when that day comes what is needed
A serial port.  A serial null-modem cable.  A terminal.  A free plug 
;-).

Seriously, that is about all you need, hardware wise.  Out of them, the 
hardest to come by would be the serial ports and the terminals.  I 
don't know where to go to get dedicated terminals, but usually some are 
available in the used market.  The serial ports are a potential 
problem.  Standard PC hardware limits you to two or four serial ports, 
unless something special is done.  There are plenty of solutions, most 
providing 4 or 8 extra serial ports.  If this is all you need, then 
that would be fine.

The cabling is simple, and you might even be able to buy pre-made null 
modem cables.

However, this solution, while fairly traditional, does have certain 
limitations.  The terminals will be limited to text.  X will be 
impossible.  If this is acceptable to you, then this is probably the 
least expensive option.  If you want X-like capabilities, then you need 
to go a more complicated route, a route that most likely involves 
ethernet.  I'll let others deal with that problem.

-- 
     Buddha Buck                      [email-masked]
"Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of our
liberty depends upon the chaos and cacaphony of the unfettered speech
the First Amendment protects."  -- A.L.A. v. U.S. Dept. of Justice