Have Mac OS 7, 8, 9, and 10.4 talk to each other, is it possible?

Mac OS 7, 8, and 9 have no problem talking to eachother over Ethernet or LocalTalk. However things can get complicated when you throw OS X into the mix. OS X only speaks AppleTalk over IP, meaning that you have to have TCP/IP settings configured on all of the macs, whereas "Classic" Mac OS speaks true AppleTalk.

The easiest way I can think of going about this would be:

1. Make sure all TCP/IP settings are configured properly on each machine.
2. Update the AppleShare software on all of the Classic Macs to the latest version (depends on OS version).
3. To access the OS X machine from one of the Classic Macs, open the Chooser, click on the AppleShare icon, and access the OS X machine via IP address.

I can't remember at the moment how to access a Classic Mac from the OS X machine, but I know it's possible.

Hope this helps,
-Gil

You have always been able to Bridge from AppleTalk-over-Ethernet to AppleTalk/LocalTalk (e.g., PhoneNet wiring) using one of the solutions below. They were introduced as Printer Bridges, but they can Bridge up to 8 devices including File Sharing Macs (but cannot get those Macs on the Internet):

1) Farallon EtherMac iPrint LT
2) Asante AsanteTalk
3) Apple Bridge software, running in the background on a Mac with both Ethernet and LocalTalk ports

All this stuff inter-operates pretty much as Gil has said until you get to 10.4. At 10.4, Apple eliminated support for File Sharing using Appletalk \[AppleTalk/LocalTalk was already dead in Mac OS X, but they eliminated AppleTalk-over-Ethernet as well.]

OS 9 supports File Sharing using both AppleTalk-over-Ethernet and TCP/IP \[TCP/IP is also over Ethernet, but cannot be converted to AppleTalk/LocalTalk]. OS 9 does this trick by including a bit of software called ShareWay IP. This package appear to have been written by, and is now available from a third party, Open Door Systems, at a modest price (US$39), and can be retrofit into OS 8 and some OS 7 systems:

http://www.opendoor.com/shareway/

PS: This illustrated article explains connecting OS 9 and Mac OS X:

http://homepage.mac.com/car1son/os9xnet_nfilesharing.html

In general, you will have better luck attempting to connect from the Older Mac to the Newer Mac.

Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

[This|http://www.mac512.com/macwebpages/appletal.htm] page has some advice on networking older and newer Macs.