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Tech by Androda Comm slot ethernet card
Posted by: KnobsNSwitches on 2024-11-12 08:07:50
Just wanted to say Androda's comm slot ethernet card is awesome. I ordered one and got it installed, and it was painless. Now my TAM is about as maxed-out as possible - G3/firewire/USB/ethernet.

The original ones are unobtanium on ebay, but Androda's are for sale here: https://androda.work/product/comm-slot-ii-10-100-ethernet-cards/
Posted by: cheesestraws on 2024-11-12 08:38:09
You mean the ones which only have three MAC addresses, because apparently they couldn't work out how to get MAC addresses, or just didn't care about standards?

This is some amateur hour guff.
Posted by: Hollie on 2024-11-12 08:46:21
Oh, is this the card where you get to pick your own MAC address from a choice of three? What happens if you want four cards for some reason?
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2024-11-12 08:46:58
Totally agree these are awesome! Def performs faster than the Apple 10Mb CSII card too.
Posted by: cheesestraws on 2024-11-12 08:48:03
What happens if you want four cards for some reason?

Then you are sad.
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2024-11-12 08:50:11
Oh, is this the card where you get to pick your own MAC address from a choice of three? What happens if you want four cards for some reason?
I guess you are out of luck, you can't have two devices with the same MAC address on the same network. Don't think this is a problem for most folks but I guess if you are trying to outfit a lab or something it could be. Definitely glad this is out there even with this limitation vs. not out there at all!
Posted by: KnobsNSwitches on 2024-11-12 08:51:12
You mean the ones which only have three MAC addresses, because apparently they couldn't work out how to get MAC addresses, or just didn't care about standards?

This is some amateur hour guff.
Maybe if you have a massive house and network with of tens of comm slot Macs with full PCI slots that need to be online simultaneously, you'll have an issue...but as this my only Mac that needs such a card I'm pleased with it!
Posted by: cheesestraws on 2024-11-12 08:58:03
Maybe if you have a massive house and network with of tens of comm slot Macs with full PCI slots that need to be online simultaneously, you'll have an issue...but as this my only Mac that needs such a card I'm pleased with it!

What happens when you sell this Mac to someone else who has another Mac with another card in it with the same MAC address? They'll end up in a weird failure mode they have no way of debugging. There are reasons why the standard is as it is.
Posted by: finkmac on 2024-11-12 09:09:01
You mean the ones which only have three MAC addresses, because apparently they couldn't work out how to get MAC addresses, or just didn't care about standards?

This is some amateur hour guff.
damn that's embarrassing. can't believe it's possible to do an ethernet card Wrong but here we are.

imagine selling a SCSI adapter that was hard locked to one of three SCSI IDs.... we'd think that was crazy!
Posted by: obsolete on 2024-11-12 09:13:50
I'll agree that I'm glad these exist at all, and the price is right, but only having three possible MAC addresses is, generously, a really weird limitation to have to deal with.
Posted by: joshc on 2024-11-12 09:15:06
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Posted by: KnobsNSwitches on 2024-11-12 11:53:32
What happens when you sell this Mac to someone else who has another Mac with another card in it with the same MAC address? They'll end up in a weird failure mode they have no way of debugging. There are reasons why the standard is as it is.
I acknowledge the the weirdness of the limited MAC addresses - I'm surprised overall at the reaction here. There's more concern for an imaginary future owner of my machine than the current owner. Before, I didn't have ethernet on my Mac, now I do.

I'm gonna chalk that up as a win.
Posted by: cheesestraws on 2024-11-12 12:10:49
There's more concern for an imaginary future owner of my machine than the current owner. Before, I didn't have ethernet on my Mac, now I do.

Is it really that odd to assert that responsible engineering accounts for the entire lifetime of the object it creates?
Posted by: Reasons. on 2024-11-12 12:24:50
I lack any Commslot II Macs but I do think these are a nice option, especially compared to used options. The 3 MAC limitation is frustrating, though, and I hope they're looking to solve it going forward. While I suspect collisions will be rare it's a meaningful flaw in an otherwise useful product.
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2024-11-12 12:28:38
Is it really that odd to assert that responsible engineering accounts for the entire lifetime of the object it creates?
Yeah, it kinda is... This limitation is clearly stated on the page and this is a hobbyist niche product. Just don't buy it if it bothers you, there are plenty of folks that will be glad to live with this limitation and if it ends up in some future hands that person can google and find about this limitation then.
Posted by: cheesestraws on 2024-11-12 12:33:10
and this is why the earth is full of earth-killing landfill-fodder crap.
Posted by: finkmac on 2024-11-12 13:41:51
Just don't buy it if it bothers you, there are plenty of folks that will be glad to live with this limitation and if it ends up in some future hands that person can google and find about this limitation then.

worst take i've seen here in a bit lol.
Posted by: chelseayr on 2024-11-12 15:03:02
I kinda have to agree on the lack of automatic MACs, and although a bit unrelated I've seen many stories both from reddit specifically and much earlier on from web in general regarding dhcp-and-static mixed networks becoming quite flunky because someone decided to blindly set a static ip that was already in the dhcp range and very much currently in use altogether .. worser when the overlapping ip involved is a network printer 'that was there first'!
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2024-11-12 15:34:35
worst take i've seen here in a bit lol.
Why does it offend you so much that anyone could find this useful? I don't get it.

I totally agree it's completely non-compliant with how Ethernet devices are required to have unique MAC address. And it's not like anyone is arguing that it would not be better if every unit had a unique MAC. ...and I'm still glad it's available because despite the publicly stated deficiency it will work just fine for a lot of folks.
Posted by: Fizzbinn on 2024-11-12 15:38:36
and this is why the earth is full of earth-killing landfill-fodder crap.

I guess we just need to agree to disagree
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