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COMPACT BIDIRECTIONAL REVERSIBLE AUTOSWITCH
2. Introduction
The IEEE 1284 standard is found on most printers
today. It enables bidirectional communication between
the PC and the printer, which allows printer information
to be sent back to the host PC using its built-in micro-
processor. The Compact Bidirectional Reversible
Autoswitch 2 to 1 supports full compatibility with
IEEE 1284 modes, including Centronics, nibble, s
pecial nibble, byte, Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP), and
Enhanced Communication Port (ECP). It’s reversible,
which means it could go from one computer to two
parallel devices or two computers to one parallel device.
It also features manual-mode and auto-mode channel-
port selection, and works with DOS, Windows 3.1,
Windows 95, and Windows 98.
The Autoswitch supports IEEE 1284 parallel devices
such as Zip™drives, scanners, CD-ROMs, back-up tapes,
digital CCD cameras, external hard drives, and Ethernet
adapters.