Date   : Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:06:46 +0000
From   : samwise@... (samwise)
Subject: [OT] No wonder CompSci graduates are unemployed

> Well there is already the Beeb IP-over-econet code and ROMs. ?I think
> it would need !Gateway running on a machine with econet & ethernet in
> order for it to get off the LAN though. ? (I keep meaning to add
> support to BeebEm to notice econet packets that contain IP and break
> it out directly..)

I'm not sure how much Winston is aware of existing solutions, though I
know you replied to his original thread on STH.  I'll point him to
this thread, anyway.

Out of curiosity, my own knowledge of beeb econet / internet projects
is somewhat lacking, so I'd be interested if anyone can give me a
layman's view of what's being/been worked on.  I was a user of econet
in my school days but haven't touched it since, apart from seeing it
being demo'd on occasion.

BeebEm econet support - Rob C (aka irrelevant).
http://www.mkw.me.uk/beebem/
Implements econet protocol over IP in BeebEm emulator, allowing
emulators to talk between each other and talk to an Arc running as an
econet/ethernet gateway.

Ethernet module for the Master - Sprow
http://www.sprow.co.uk/bbc/masternet.htm
Allows a Master to connect directly to an ethernet network.

Does that sound right?  Are/have there been any other related projects?

I've always thought that the ultimate goal for bringing econet to the
modern age would be to have two (or more) local econet networks at
separate geographical locations and be able to bridge them over the
internet over IP, perhaps also connecting with a virtual econet LAN
made up of distributed copies of BBC emulators.  In theory, then, one
could send messages between emulators and real beebs.

How feasible is that?  I assume it would require an econet/ethernet
gateway at both ends - what would the availablity of those be, these
days?  Is finding an ethernet card for a RISC OS machine troublesome?

This is all just idle speculation on my part ... :)

Peter.