Mac portable challenges card makers; external networking solution may be necessary

Makers of networking boards for Apple's Macintosh II, SE and SE30 cite space, power and configuration limitations as reasons why they will not develop products for the company's new Macintosh portable. Asante Technologies Inc Pres Wilson Wong claims the portable Mac was designed for travel rather than for connectivity, and that its LocalTalk capability and SCSI port meet the in-office connectivity requirements of the machine. The Mac portable uses an altogether new bus architecture, which means network board makers will have to develop an entirely new design; the 68000-based portable has only one general-purpose slot and is not compatible with the 68030-based Mac SE or SE30 nor with the Mac II's Nubus expansion slots. 3Comm Corp Product Mgr Reinier Tuinzing says apart from the technical challenges presented by the portable, there is too little demand to warrant development of network cards for the machine.
Mac portable challenges card makers CUPERTINO, CA--Several companies that have engineered networking boards for the Macintosh II, Macintosh SE, and Macintosh SE30 are turning thumbs down to Apple's September-released Macintosh [...]