networking during the 90s

ffantasy · Post by **ffantasy** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 7:39 am

I have a questions about hospital networking during the 90s where OS majority still Windows 3.1 for workgroup and win95, all are connected to a network.

what LAN technology & topology that does not permit of transferring large images (example: MRI image, CT scan image), PCs only able to transmit text based information.

Second question, still during those eras, what LAN technology that would allow images to be exchange between PCs?

Thanks in advance

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 9:57 am

I'm not sure about an NOS that defined differences between text and images, but are you asking what was popular back then? Or looking for some specific NOS that you knew did such a function but can't remember?

Back then, with Win3.X, NT 3.X/4.0, and Win9X, the NOS that was popular for small to medium networks was Artisofts LANtastic, which ran it's own proprietary NetBIOS as a protocol, often over Coax 10Base-2 in the early years, and Novell Netware taking over towards the larger networks, or those with more of a budget.

ffantasy · Post by **ffantasy** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:03 am

Ok, thx for the info and yes, i was looking what on was popular back then.

So the novell also using coax 10base-2 cable?

JackMDS · Post by **JackMDS** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:10 pm

In the Early 90s what ever was available was not using Windows but special propriety applications, there was not too much of it, most of the regular work was still done with photographic material.

The big move into computers as we know it is more late 90s early 2000s.

ffantasy · Post by **ffantasy** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:41 pm

oooh that is intresting

Shinobi · Post by **Shinobi** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:56 am

YeOldeStonecat wrote:I'm not sure about an NOS that defined differences between text and images, but are you asking what was popular back then? Or looking for some specific NOS that you knew did such a function but can't remember?

Back then, with Win3.X, NT 3.X/4.0, and Win9X, the NOS that was popular for small to medium networks was Artisofts LANtastic, which ran it's own proprietary NetBIOS as a protocol, often over Coax 10Base-2 in the early years, and Novell Netware taking over towards the larger networks, or those with more of a budget.

Dos Networks were used in the early 90's.... Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1 detected the Ms LanManger or LANtastic TSR's in the background...

There was 10baset (CAT 3) back then .. although not as much as the Token Ring ... Also, there used to be, using Ms-Dos Interlink appllication or LapLink application, networking via a serial or parallel cable, to make up a client and server type network... I remember doing this a long time ago...
with a few manual switch boxes making up a great "shoestring" type network...lol

Also I used to use, a old terminal app "across" differn't computers back then... "Kermit" is one old terminal app that comes to mind.. You could use it to transfer text and binary files across old networks..
from one computer to another..
I guess it's still a good app... it's still being upgraded..
http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/

Shinobi

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 6:34 am

Yeah good old Token Ring. I never ran across many of those, I think the only ones I worked on or installed were at American Express franchise offices, they had to follow a corporate guideline on installing their networks.

I never dabbled in Kermit. Which brings to mind, I wonder if the old dumb terminals such as WYSE is what he was wondering about, "text only".

Shinobi · Post by **Shinobi** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:59 am

YeOldeStonecat wrote:I never dabbled in Kermit. Which brings to mind, I wonder if the old dumb terminals such as WYSE is what he was wondering about, "text only".

WYSE.. ya that might be... I used to work for a retail company back in the late 80's early 90's that used to have WYSE type clients on a "ring"...
Every client had happy text menu's on a soft glowing amber color "monochrome" monitor. LOL

Old happy POS system

.... now a days a lot of retail stores still use Wireless scaning "guns" that still run text like LCD screens and transmit to and from a central server.. even though the server is Windows Based, some servers used to be Unix with text like menu's, back in the early 90's.
The first two guns below.. have PC-Dos loaded on them.. the last one has some version of ms-dos..

It's kind of cool to look back at older networks and computers and devices that used to be on them.. principles are ussually still the same.

Shinobi

Ghosthunter · Post by **Ghosthunter** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:50 pm

Shinobi wrote:

Dos Networks were used in the early 90's.... Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1 detected the Ms LanManger or LANtastic TSR's in the background...

There was 10baset (CAT 3) back then .. although not as much as the Token Ring ... Also, there used to be, using Ms-Dos Interlink appllication or LapLink application, networking via a serial or parallel cable, to make up a client and server type network... I remember doing this a long time ago...
with a few manual switch boxes making up a great "shoestring" type network...lol

Also I used to use, a old terminal app "across" differn't computers back then... "Kermit" is one old terminal app that comes to mind.. You could use it to transfer text and binary files across old networks..
from one computer to another..
I guess it's still a good app... it's still being upgraded..
http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/

Shinobi

Wow talk about nostalgia...now I feel really old..I cannot believe I have been doing IT for this long.

Dont forget OS/2 WARP was pretty big back then too.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:13 pm

Shinobi wrote:. the last one has some version of ms-dos..

)

Yup I've setup a few dozen of those Percon units back in my days at a point of sale software company.

Shinobi · Post by **Shinobi** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:08 pm

Ghosthunter wrote:Wow talk about nostalgia...now I feel really old..I cannot believe I have been doing IT for this long.

Dont forget OS/2 WARP was pretty big back then too.

LOL

, Old? Sure there are a lot of us here that are..
let me put a old "Men at Work" - 'Business as Usual' record, on my record player while I work on my 286 and 386..

Old, Brave, Bald (too much hairy spray/gel?) , Computer Men of the 80's ]Yup I've setup a few dozen of those Percon units back in my days at a point of sale software company.[/QUOTE]

The Percon units that I used a long way back.. had the "strobe wand" for scanning UPC... didn't even have a infrared scanner. LOL.

Shinobi

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:16 am

YeOldeStonecat wrote:Yup I've setup a few dozen of those Percon units back in my days at a point of sale software company.

funny you mention it..

I use a Percon at work to scan stuff to put in inventory or whatever

it has an antenna and it looks like some type of PCMCIA slot for a wireless card (?) but it's not used..
also looks like it has an antenna connector where the card would plug in..

it has a base unit that hooks to the computer with a serial cable

Shinobi · Post by **Shinobi** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:01 pm

BaLa wrote:funny you mention it..

I use a Percon at work to scan stuff to put in inventory or whatever

it has an antenna and it looks like some type of PCMCIA slot for a wireless card (?) but it's not used..
also looks like it has an antenna connector where the card would plug in..

it has a base unit that hooks to the computer with a serial cable

Good Luck to you

Shinobi

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:21 am

BaLa wrote:
it has a base unit that hooks to the computer with a serial cable

Yeah that's how I used to set them up, communicated via 9pin serial COM.