[PLUG] Experiences with USB "null modem" cables.

[Rich Shepard]

On Fri, 1 Jun 2018, Tyrell Jentink wrote:

> I have actually done file transfers over RS-232 null modem cables, in the
> distant past... Both computers had native serial, as was the custom for
> the time... But one had a DSL internet connection, and the other... Well,
> it spit in the face of the "Computers with USB always have Ethernet" claim
> thrown around here... So, I initially used a terminal client that could
> serialize files and send it to another terminal; It worked, but I wanted
> more. In those days, PPP-over-Serial was a prominent feature in many
> commercial OSes, and I was able to cludge together some simple internet
> connection sharing. It worked... Albeit, only as an academic study, a
> proof that the text books weren't lying to us so to speak, as one couldn't
> even imagine using that crap in production, even in those days...

Tyrell,

   UUCP, perhaps?

> So... I foresee lots of reading about "Terminal Node" software in your
> future. Of course, the only folks still playing that game use ham radios
> instead of null modem cables... But the broad concepts and important
> details are the same.

   Of course, there's always sneaker net ... on floppy disks to avoid the
current media.

Rich