[ih] TCP adoption in 1984

[Karl Auerbach]

Those early Ethernet cards for PC's were sometimes quite troublesome.  
And that AUI connector (and slide lock), oy!

The 3COM 3C501 (used by many of us who were using John Romkey/Dave 
Bridgham's PC/IP) were very much half duplex and could not turn around 
from send to receive fast enough to avoid missing responses from a fast 
peer.

When we built the TRW2000 Ethernet card for the ULANA bid we used 
Intel's Ethernet controller - 82256? - apparently had a flaw in the mask 
that caused the chip to get really, really hot (which I discovered much 
to my finger's unhappiness.)  That chipset was a real pain to write code 
for.

My own first use of Ethernet was in 1980, when I was with Interactive 
Systems, at a trade show in Houston.  I think we used gear from 
Ungermann-Bass for terminal attachment.  Someone did not like the yellow 
color of the cable, so we ended up painting it. (I also ended up getting 
married.)

We used yellow hose ethernet for the not-quite Interop show net in 1987 
and for the first Interop show net in 1988.  When we met twisted pair 
Ethernet we went for it in an instant.  I suspect that there are pieces 
of our yellow hose still in the cable trays in the parking lots of the 
San Jose convention center.

One of the biggest and most useful improvements to Ethernet came when 
Lantronix came out with an AUI media adaptor with indicator LEDs.  Those 
indicators were invaluable.

I'm blanking right now on the name of the person who came up with that 
awful AUI slide lock - he has since apologized to the universe.

         --karl--