Moving Away From AppleTalk® A few years ago Apple® declared OS 9 dead. Are they right? Maybe. But we all know it takes time for this sort of thing to trickle down. We still encounter OS 9 in a lot of print shops even though Apple is currently shipping version 10.4.4 of OS X. Many printers are still using AppleTalk to communicate with their RIP even though they don’t need to. Of course it’s the default communication protocol for OS 9 and that is partly why it’s still lingering. Why else are people hanging on to AppleTalk? Let’s count the reasons. First, they are familiar with it and they know how to set it up. Second, it’s easy and straightforward to work with, which provides a level of comfort. Third, its works in OS X and it’s easier than learning the new networking tools. Fourth, they have PC MACLAN® installed on Windows machines because the person who installed the RIP knew no other way to connect Mac and Windows. Let’s explore the argument for getting rid of it. AppleTalk has been disdained by network professionals for well over a decade, and with good reason. It generates large amounts of network overhead, essentially "pinging" the entire network constantly. It’s as if it suffers from a personality disorder, lonely and scared, screaming every few milliseconds, "I’m here. Is anybody else here? Talk to me! Tell me who you are!" All this caterwauling and unnecessary packet-slinging burdens the network. I’m not going to demand you upgrade all of your OS 9 machines today. (I know you’d like to, but there are always those customers with jobs from legacy applications that are running only under the old OS.) What I can do is insist you eliminate AppleTalk on your network. It is no longer necessary and I can make this categorical statement: If you are using a Harlequin-based RIP, you do not need AppleTalk or separate cross-platform communication software. Whether you wish to prepare for an eventual migration off of OS 9, you simply want a faster network, or you don’t want to clog up your Windows machine with third party networking clients, you can kick the AppleTalk habit. It doesn’t matter if you have a Windows RIP with Mac clients, or a Macintosh RIP with Windows and Mac clients. You too can kick the AppleTalk habit today. Summing up the value of this column for Harlequin RIP users, getting rid of AppleTalk will speed up your network and prepare you for a plug-and-play upgrade to OS X. Summing up the value of this column for the network professional or the support technician, you will be able to connect to any Harlequin RIP from ANY operating system whether you are comfortable with that operating system or not. Every modern operating system speaks the protocol we’ll use. For brevity’s sake, the following instructions are intended for the knowledgeable user. However, you’ll notice I’ve provided links to more in-depth (step-by-step) instructions for those who aren’t as familiar with the setups. The Windows RIP What’s the trick? Use IP Printing instead. Also referred to as LPR printing, you can configure a Windows printer to send to a RIP input and share it out to your Macs as long as the share name is 12 characters or less. From your OS 9 platform, open the Desktop Printer Utility at Applications (Mac OS9): Utilities.Select Printer (LPR) from the list. Type in the TCP/IP address of your Windows PC and the exact name of the shared printer you created. That’s it. You have created a printer you can choose from within your OS 9 applications. From OS X’s printer utility you can simply connect to Windows shared printers directly, or use the Line Printer Daemon (LPD) to duplicate our efforts above using the IP address and share name. To put it simply, OS X does not need AppleTalk for Windows connectivity. Detailed step-by-step illustrated instructions for creating using Windows Printers and for accessing Windows printers directly from OS X are available from Xitron at www.xitron.com/tips.htm. The Mac RIP To set up Socket Inputs, create a new input in the RIP’s input controller and choose “Socket.” Configure it with a number, such as”9100.” You’ll need this number later. On another Mac, use the LPR printing technique describedabove to get to this computer. Use the IP address of the Mac and the exact name of the Socket Input. On a Windows computer, simply add a new printer. Make it a local printer and choose “standard TCP/IP port” as your port. Use the IP address of the Mac when it asks for the IP address. In the settings tab choose “custom.” It is here that you will enter your port number. Remember, in this example we used 9100. Now your Windows PC has everything it needs to connect to your Mac OS 9 or OS X RIP without using AppleTalk. Detailed step-by-step illustrated instructions for creating socket inputs on the Mac RIP may be found at the end of this article by clicking Creating Socket Inputs on the Mac Navigator RIP. File Transfer Additional Tips Copyright Notices: Xitron is a trademark of Xitron which is registered in the U.S. Apple, AppleTalk and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft in the U.S. and other countries. PC MACLAN is a registered trademark of Miramar Systems, Inc. PostScript is a trademark or registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the U.S. and/or other countries. Harlequin is a trademark of Global Graphics Software Ltd. All other brands and product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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