From: Don Zahniser (irntooth_at_eznet.net)
Date: Tue Jan 31 2006 - 07:05:55 PST
Hi, All -
I recently moved from using my beloved, aging Powerbook 1400 to a G4
Cube running Panther as my primary computer. The Cube has no serial
ports. I have been able to connect my MP2100 to the Cube using NCU and
Ethernet under Classic, but I have found another path...
A couple of weeks ago, I was in my local neighborhood computer reseller
store, and picked up an interesting-looking "USB2.0 Dock" for $10.00.
The model number is DK201 (no brand name on the unit). It has 4 USB
ports, two PS/2 keyboard/mouse connectors, a 9-pin serial port, and a
parallel port. This appears to be the product page, although mine is
cosmetically a bit different:
http://de-co.info/product/oc/DK201.html#6
I had been just using it as a hub with my Cube, but yesterday I decided
to see if I could get the serial port working. I noticed in System
Profiler that the serial port wasn't identified as such, but the PS/2
ports were shown, along with an IEEE-1284 port identified as
manufactured by Prolific Technology, Inc. I found the Prolific
Technology support site, and downloaded a Mac OS X driver from:
http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?ID=31
There are drivers for Mac OS X, Mac OS 8-9, Linux, and various Windows
versions.
Prior to installing the driver, NewTen had only shown an "Internal
Serial" port, for which there is no connection on the Cube. After
installing the driver, it also shows a "NewtUSB"(!) option. Using the
latter, I was able to successfully install packages onto my Newton
through the 9-pin serial port on the hub, using a Newton-to-PC cable.
I also have achieved serial connections with NewtSync 0.3m and Escale,
although with mixed results which don't seem to be related to the
connection.
So, I got a functioning serial port with my hub! When I was searching
the web for information on this product, I found a number of places
that sell them for a similar price...
-- Don V. Zahniser <irntooth_at_eznet.net> -- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/ WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/
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