Apple connectors - Re: Steve Jobs -2011

That's not just a connector change. IIRC, the AUI (standard) inteface provides a 12V power suuply for the transceiver. AAUI provides 5V. Meaning that using stnadard transceivers on a Mac is non-trivial. Mac serial ports don't have to use the Appletalk protocol (thankfully -- I've got nothing agianst Appletalk, but it's handy to be able to talk to the rest of the world too...). But anyway, IIRC the original Mac (and Mac 512?) used DE9 connectors for the serial ports, wired differnetly to PC ones. But making up adapters not a big job. But I do think that MiniDINs in general are horrible connectors. They're dififuclt to wire and not that reliable. Strictly it's not an RJ-anything. The RJ standards define the (telephone) signals as well as the connector. These modular telephone connectors may not have been used on PCs, but plenty of other manufacturers were using them for keyboards at that time. HP (HP150, HP120, probagly at least one terminal), DEC (anything that uses an LK201), Vicotr/Sirius, etc. .. And misisng out most of the ground wires, which are not there to look nice ;-) -tony