A BYTE SHORT TAKE: LapLink Mac III
Move it Anywhere
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Until recently, if you wanted to move a plethora of files from
one Mac to another your choices were either: a) expensive, or b)
complicated beyond belief. Ironically, the folks in DOSdom were
better off: a utility program from Traveling Software called
LapLink allowed easy batch file transfers between microcomputers
via a serial cable. They also introduced a variant of LapLink
called LapLink Mac, that lets you copy files in bulk from a PC to
a Mac. This was fine if you were migrating from one machine to
another, but what the Mac community sorely needed was that
Mac-to-Mac file transfer capability. This, unfortunately, was
precisely what earlier versions of LapLink Mac lacked.
 
Leave it to Traveling Software not to overlook this need for too
long. They didn't, because LapLink Mac III delivers not only the
traditional Mac-to-PC batch file transfers, but also handles
Mac-to-Mac batch file transfers. And you accomplish transfers
between Macs in a variety of ways: via serial cable, AppleTalk
network, and modem. Passwords are required for transferring files
over the network or through a modem -- an important security
feature. If you're trying to pony files onto a Mac Portable to do
a presentation, you can even use a special optional SCSI cable to
perform a high-speed transfer directly to the Portable's hard
disk. Why no SCSI ID conflict with the Mac Portable's CPU? It
turns out the SCSI ID of the Portable can be modified by software
-- a feature used by LapLink Mac III.
 
The package comes with software for both the Mac and the PC. A
unique cable solves your serial port connection hassles: one
end of the cable has a male mini DIN-8 connector (for the Mac),
the other end is a three-headed hydra that has a female DB-25
connector (for a PC), a female DB-9 connector (for a PC), and
another male mini DIN-8 connector (for a Mac). Transfers
between Macs over this serial cable can hit a peak of 750,000
bps -- well over the rated maximum of 57,000 bps. LapLink Mac
III manages this feat with a small accelerator module that plugs
into the DB-25 connector. This accelerator uses an oscillator
that clocks the data through the serial ports at the higher rate.
It's the same technique used by DaynaTALK and TOPS FlashBox with
their LocalTalk network boosters.
 
I tried a beta version of LapLink Mac III on a Mac Plus, a Mac
II, a Mac IIx, and a Mac IIci. The PC software wasn't very
stable, but that's OK. Given their track record with the
PC-only version, I'm sure that will be fixed. Instead, I chose to
look at how LapLink handled new ground: moving Mac files about.
The Mac interface is much improved over the earlier versions:
instead of a small window with the transfer managed by the PC,
you have two windows presenting a SFFile-style directory of
files on the source and target machines. A few mouse-clicks to
select files, and you're started. Transfers over the serial
cable with the accelerator were fast and smooth using both the
Finder and MultiFinder. Transfers over our LocalTalk network
ran slower, but some of the delay is due to AppleTalk's
protocol overhead.
 
I left LapLink Mac running on the Mac II equipped with a Hayes
modem at work and dialed into it from home using a Mac Plus and
Apple modem. Using the appropriate password (you can give out
several passwords, each one providing different degrees of
access) I connected successfully and could view not only the
files on the Mac II, but those files on our network servers as
well. I was able to send and receive files to the "remote"
computer, but the transfer rate is much slower than a
conventional XMODEM transfer. Traveling Software promises that
the modem and network transfer rates will be faster in the
release version.
 
Perhaps best of all, these transfers can be "bidirectional":
that is, the receiving system can initiate a file transfer as
well. I got two Mac IIs connected by modem  and sent files to
each other simultaneously. LapLink handled all transfers,
serial, network, and modem, reliably.
 
The variety of ways LapLink Mac III moves files about will
solve quite a few file transfer headaches. The modem option
even allows you to send a software update to that poor soul in
the field. I'll be direct: this is a product that will answer a
lot problems for Mac users. If you need to move a lot of data
about among different Macs or even to PCs, LapLink Mac III
provides the means.
 
The Facts:
LapLink Mac III, $189.95
 
Requirements: Mac Plus, Mac SE, Mac SE/30, Mac II family, Mac
Portable, running System 5.0 or later. IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or
compatible with 256K-bytes RAM running MS-DOS 2.11 or higher.
 
Traveling Software, Inc.
18702 North Creek Parkway
Bothell, WA 98011
(206) 483-8088
 
                              --- Tom Thompson
 
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