Localtalk to Ethernet adaptor

The Farralon EtherMac iPrint LT can be used to support AppleTalk/Localtalk printers on an Ethernet network.

But it can also allow up to 8 older devices (Macs or printers that have only the Printer or Modem port) to use AppleTalk-over-Ethernet File Sharing on a network that is otherwise all Ethernet.

I use them to network older, non-Ethernet Macs (like the Mac IIfx) to newer Macs and LocalTalk-only LaserWriters. I deploy them today into schools where a LaserWriter is still a great printer, but almost all the Macs have no Printer or Modem port. They do come up for sale on eBay from time-to-time. Farallon was bought out by Proxim for its wireless innovations, but Proxim now considers all the Farallon products to be at end-of-life.

This approach does NOT give an older Mac an IP address, so it cannot get on the Internet with this solution. This adapter Does let you share files easily over AppleTalk from Mac OS 7.5.3 through Mac OS X 10.3.9 -- but AppleTalk-only File Sharing was dropped at Mac OS X 10.4.

To make way for the upcoming Intel Macs, AppleTalk and TCP/IP drivers for 10.4 were modified. AppleTalk-only File Sharing support in Mac OS X 10.4 was removed. This has meant some connections have to be initiated from one end or the other:

RE: Which Mac can be a Server (source whose files are mounted on another Mac's desktop) under what circumstances:

File Sharing via AppleTalk:
7.5.3 through 10.3.9 can share their files via AppleTalk.
10.4 cannot share its files via AppleTalk, and cannot mount drives from Macs that only want to share via AppleTalk. (AppleTalk printing in 10.4 is still supported.)

File Sharing via TCP/IP:
OS 9 and later can share its files via TCP/IP.
7.5.3 and later can mount other Mac's files on its desktop via TCP/IP if you use the "Server IP Address" button in the AppleShare Chooser Extension.

Executive Summary:
The scenario that always works is to start from the older, pre-9 Mac, and mount the 10.4 Mac's shared drives or shared folder on the older Mac by using the "Server IP Address" button in the Chooser.

Note: when using 7.5.3, you may have to download newer version of Open Transport and/or the AppleShare Chooser extension, but these are readily available.