Forced off the Mac?

[maclamb]

My company has provided me with a mac (I asked for an 867 PM, but got a used 400 PM )
It comes witha Madge token ring card which appears to work ok under the OS (9.0.4) (uses DHCP) - I can connect to the net but am concerned:
1. Madge may not support the card under OSX which I have installed and want to use.
2. I cannot get Appletalk to start - is this normal for Token ring?
3. If Madge does not support their TR card under OSX what are my options:
a. Is there an ethernet to token ring solution?
b. Do I just live with 9 forever (should I upgrade to 9.2.1?)
c. Face the facts and bring my dell laptop to work?
4. Is token ring a current, viable technology or is this consiodered legacy/dinosaur tech?
5. Is there an upgrade CPU card to replace the G4 4oo mhz?

thanks

 

[AlphaTech]

Token ring networking went out with the Mac II series (if not before then). Ethernet is the current protocol (which is why it is in ALL Mac systems of the last several years). If your work place is using Token ring networking, they need to invest in some Ethernet intrastructure and get modern.

I have never needed to use Token ring for networking, all the companies I have worked for in the past used either Ethernet or Appletalk (back in the early 90's).

Update the OS to 9.2.2 (9.2.1 first, then to 9.2.2), it has several fixes and runs better.

For CPU upgrading, it is available, but which G4 400 do you have (AGP or PCI graphics?) Go to http://www.sonnettech.com/ and look at their options. I am fairly certain that additional upgrades will be forthcoming, since it has been a while since any improvements in the upgrade speeds.

What are you doing for work that they skimped and bought a used G4?

 

[maclamb]

Thanks - I was afraid that was the answer...

They didn't buy a used mac - I "inherited" a used mac from the soon-to-be-outsourced creative services dept.

I'm a new hire and my manager agreed to get me an 867 Mhz Mac when I started then reported she had one in house and I could have that.
Sure as Sh*t - when I got there today and looked at the back:
BOOM G4 400 Doh!

So now I don't have the heart to go back and complain - especially since I may be forced off due to bogus old technology....

 

[AlphaTech]

I gather that you didn't get the Mac as part of your employment offer...

What are they expecting you to do for your job??

 

[michealk]

While I'll be the first to admit that token ring is antiquated technology, you'll find that a number of government institutions and banks (*especially* banks) have large token ring installations. It's not as dead as you might think (or hope).

 

[maclamb]

no - I have a signing bonus and a healthy salary - a new internal technical training position for an insurance company. (Teach Java, etc). It was verbal agreement between my manager and I. I doubt I woul dmake a computer a fact of an employment agreement - witrh wehjat they ar epaying me, if I can resolve the netwrok BS then I would just get a DP1Ghz or 933 and use that at work and take the tax deduction (unreimbursed equip required for my job)

They use IBM Visualage/Websphere - neither of which run on a mac So I'm using my Dell inspiron (which I _do_ like) for those.
But I was planning on using my 867 for Java dev (off Vage), Unix, Powerpoint, net/lotus notes, general coolness.

So, the 400G4 may be enough - I plan to add memory and some fast drives (take it to at least 768M and add a 15KRPM Ultra SCSI) that sholuld help I figure.
No 3d Anim, video editing or audio - so I may be a whiner here....

Is there any practical Enet to token ring solution?

If Madge doesn't come out with OSX drivers (sent email 2nite) then I am stuck with 9.2.2

Or, if there was a way to use an airport hub hub with token ring?????

 

[jaykk]

Lotus Notes for OS X coming next month

I use similar packages for our Development/Desktop system - IBM Visual Age/Websphere, Db2, Lotus notes/sametime, Lotus smartsuite etc.. on a Thinkpad and Token Ring..but we are getting ethernet within a month (may be wireless ) . But our production system runs on AIX.. Once Lotus Notes comes out for Mac OS X, I can convince my boss to get me a Mac because most of my work is on AIX but its not easy.