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Network AppleTalk control panels

Classic Network and AppleTalk control panel icons from Macintosh System 7 and Mac OS 8, respectively.

AppleTalk was a proprietary networking protocol used by Macintosh computers to make it easy to share files and to connect to network devices, such as printers, on a local area network (LAN).[1]

Development[]

Apple_Macintosh_Longplay_-_Bus'd_Out

Apple Macintosh Longplay - Bus'd Out

A proof-of-concept of AppleBus in 1984.

An earlier networking project for the Lisa called AppleNet had been cancelled in October 1983 after consuming considerable resources within Apple Computer. A simplified project, initially named AppleBus, was initiated within the Macintosh group as a lower cost method to network both Lisa and early Macintosh computers over the serial port.[2][3]

Implementation[]

Apple_PowerBook_ad_John_and_Greg_1992

Apple PowerBook ad John and Greg 1992

An early PowerBook television commercial that also promoted the ease of AppleTalk.

Local area AppleTalk networking was first introduced in 1985 as part of the Macintosh Office. This implementation, called LocalTalk, was connected through the built-in serial port for speeds of up to 230.4 kbps.[4] AppleTalk file sharing was implemented through AppleShare. Apple subsidiary Claris also released a free utility called Public Folder in 1989.

Other implementations[]

Deprecation[]

The AppleTalk protocol was deprecated by Apple in favor of Bonjour.[1] Support for it was phased out by Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).[5]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 AppleTalk, LocalTalk, and PhoneNet by Adam Rosen, Low End Mac. 2014-04-26.
  2. A history of Macintosh Networking by Alan B. Oppenheimer, Open Door Networks. 2004-01. Archived 2006-10-16.
  3. Apple, waiting for IBM net, links micros with AppleBus by Jim Vartino, InfoWorld. 1984-03-26.
  4. Macintosh Serial Throughput by Daniel Knight, Low End Mac. 1998-04-12.
  5. Apple Filing Protocol Ethernet Networks, Classic Mac Networking, The Apple Fool. Accessed 2021-05-15.

See also[]

External links[]

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