Clint's 3 Duos

[Clinton MacDonald]

Mr. Payne:

I guess that, since I am mentioned by name in the Subject, I should 
respond to this post. :-)

Brandon Payne wrote:
> i have a duo 230, the dock has died
> you think that debian 68k would work?

Actually, no, I don't think that Debian would work -- but I would be 
pleased if you were to prove me wrong! As far as I can tell (using 
Google as my research tool), no one has got a version of Linux to work 
on any Duo, either 680x0-based (like your Duo 230), or Power PC-based 
(like the 2300 and Duo-like 2400). Apparently, the unique hardware 
configurations of the Duos have limited the ability of Linux gurus to 
reverse-engineer solutions. That's quite a disappointment (speaking as 
someone who owns two Duos :-) ).

> i was dreaming of using the duo with 
> a null modem connection 
> and X to surf the internet in monochrome
> not possible?

You can probably do that now! Install some decent version of the 
Macintosh OS on your Duo (say, System 7.5.5).

You will probably need to network the Duo using Ethernet (though you 
might be able to do something with AppleTalk, if you are very good). For 
Ethernet connectivity, you will need some sort of Dock that supports 
SCSI, either Apple's mini-Dock, or one of the third-party Dock 
substitutes. You will also need a SCSI Ethernet dongle (I have a Pocket 
SCSI/Link-T from Dayna). If you lack either or both of these, you may 
have to shop on eBay.

With Ethernet support on your Duo, you should be able to connect to the 
Internet through your router, as you would from any other machine on 
your network. I think that System 7.5.5 still supports MacTCP rather 
than Open Transport, so you might have to assign a permanent IP address 
to the Duo (often a number in the range of 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.255).

Obtain one of the following browsers:

iCab <http://www.icab.de/dl.php>
Wanna-Be <http://mindstory.com/wb2/>
MacLynx <http://browsers.evolt.org/?maclynx/2.7.1>

(The latter two are text-only browsers.)

You can use SSH to connect to your PowerMac 9100:

MacSSH <http://pro.wanadoo.fr/chombier/MacSSH/SSH_info.html>
MacSFTP <http://pro.wanadoo.fr/chombier/MacSFTP/SFTP_info.html>

All in all, it looks like a project that only a fanatic could love (I 
used to be such a fanatic, and got an old Mac SE/30 to network with a 
similar configuration). The Duos were awesome machines, and I am 
disappointed that Apple didn't make more of the concept (maybe with less 
reliance on proprietary connectivity). I am still looking for a Mac 
laptop that is as small and backpackable as was my Duo 280c (the new 
12-inch PowerBook G4 might qualify).

Let us know what you decide to do!

Best wishes,
Clint

-- 
Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint DOT macdonald AT sbcglobal DOT net>