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Neworking Computers Via Floppy Drive?
Mikey asks: "I remember seeing somewhere a device which looks like a diskette with wires at the back to connect to another computer. The reason I am asking is because the Cyprus Stock Exchange only allows access to its terminals via diskette. `If there is indeed a device which makes a connection between one computer and another via the floppy?"
The "thruoughput rate" of floppies is actually on the order of 500KB/sec, which isn't so bad compared to some popular networking media (10BaseT is only able to achieve about 600-700KB/sec once you have factored in protocol and collision overhaad).
Since other devices have been designed to adapt the floppy drive to alternative media (I'm thinking of memory sticks and the like) there shouldn't be too much problem doing the same thing for a networking medium.
The real problem would likely be how to present the interface to the rest of the system: would you use a new disk driver which would translate the local networking API or would the device itself present the network as a set of files on a virtual floppy disk? Either way you have some big headaches if you are going to support more than a few target systems.
i had forgoten about those memory stick adapters. I did a quick search to learn a bit about them. First off you can't get them for less than $50. Secondly, thier transfer rate is "up to 240 Kb/s". 240 Kbits/sec is FAR different from 10Mbits/sec (even after accounting for overhead). It also appears that it takes propriatary software in order to get the host system to recognize the disk. This goes along with your comment of how to write the interface for the aformentioned ask slashdot question. Yes, it would be a pain to develop if only to use occassionly on a few systems. I guess we need a little more info from Mikey as to why he needs to be transfering files with these computers, what applications is he using, etc.
It isn't networking, but it will allow you to get more than a floppy's worth of information out of a system at a time. SmartDisk makes a product called the FlashPath, which allows you to read and write to smart media or sony memory sticks through a PC's floppy drive. In short, you'd be able to read/write up to 64mb of data at a time (and soon, 128mb). It does require a driver to be installed in the PC to be used, but it will allow you to get more data in and out without any hardware modifications at all... just a quick driver install (and yes, the driver will fit on a floppy and is available for Win9x/NT/2000, Mac and Linux here).
.plan.
Oh yeah, it'll run you US$89.95 at the SmartDisk store with a 16Mb SmartMedia card, or you can head over to PriceScan's Digital Film Readers section and find one for under US$60 without a card.
Some day I hope to have a
Portable versions of Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, etc
I once had a request from a UK company for someone to link the two Cyprus sales offices, one in the Greek area, the other in the Turkish area. We had to install a link between the two with a pair of routers, but no-one was allowed to speak to both offices. The routers were already on site, but no-one had got round to configuring them properly. It was planned to route other protocols over them as well, meaning a lot of extra configuration. To fufill the contract we had to send one engineer to one site, configure that router, then send someone else to the other site to do the same, and then hope that everything worked.
Under the bizarre constraints of this contract, I don't think anyone put in a bid. Would you?
Good thing the two computers were close to each other or the TTL would expire while you ran between the offices.
Any sufficiently advanced civilization is indistinguishable from Gods.