Netopia Explained

Netopia, Inc., formerly Farallon Computing, Inc., was an American computer networking company that produced a wide variety of products including bridges, repeaters and switches, and in their later Netopia incarnation, modems, routers, gateways, and Wi-Fi devices. The company also produced the NBBS (Netopia Broadband Server Software) and, as Farallon, Timbuktu remote administration software, as well as the MacRecorder, the first audio capture and manipulation products for the Macintosh (later sold to Macromedia). Farallon originated several notable technologies, including:

• PhoneNet, an implementation of AppleTalk over plain ("Cat-3") telephone wiring or, more commonly, EIA-TIA 568A/B structured cabling systems. Many versions of the product were produced, but the original product was a commercialized version of a kit developed and produced by BMUG, the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group in 1986.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
• The StarController, a line of LocalTalk and Ethernet bridges and switches released in 1988 which integrated directly with EIA-TIA 568A/B structured cabling systems.^[5]
• EtherWave, an ADB-powered serial-to-ethernet bridge in a dongle form-factor which looked something like a manta ray. The two external ports were 10BASE-T and the serial pigtail spoke an overclocked 690 kbps version of LocalTalk. This served both to allow devices without expansion busses (commonly early Macintosh computers and LaserWriter printers) to connect directly to Ethernet networks, and also to allow the daisy-chaining of multiple devices from a single Ethernet switch or bridge port.^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} Later versions used Apple's "AAUI" version of the Attachment Unit Interface to achieve full 10 mbps host connections.^[11]
• AirDock, a Serial-to-IrDA gateway which allowed devices with LocalTalk ports to communicate on IrDA infrared wireless networks.

Netopia acquired multiple companies in the home networking space including Cayman and DoBox, Inc.^[12] DoBox, Inc., founded by Nicole Toomey Davis, Bradley Davis and Matt Smith, was acquired in 2002 ^[13] for its award-winning^[14] DoBox Family Firewall and Home Server Gateway.^[15]

History

Farallon Computing was founded in 1986 in Berkeley. It subsequently moved its headquarters to Emeryville, California, and later still changed its name to Netopia in 1998.

Netopia was acquired by Motorola in the first quarter of 2007.^[16]

ISPs known to use Netopia modems include:

• AT&T in the United States
• Sonic.net in the United States
• Covad in the United States
• eircom in Ireland
• Swisscom in Switzerland
• NextGenTel in Norway
• France Télécom, Cegetel RSS, B3G Telecom, Nerim, Easynet, Claranet, Magic Online in France

In the Philippines, Netopia was created in 1996 by Digital Paradise. In 2019, declining internet cafes business ended Netopia when IP E-Games Ventures divest from the former.^[17]

External links

• Homepage of Netopia
• Netopia financial news from Google Finance

Notes and References

1. Web site: PhoneNET User's Guide . Farallon Computing . 1986.
2. Web site: Farallon PhoneNET . Vintage Computing Wiki . 23 November 2021.
3. US . 5003579A . Expired . System for connecting computers via telephone lines . 1991-03-26 . 1991-03-26 . 1989-09-07 . 1986-08-22 . Reese M. Jones .
4. Web site: BMUG Lab in UCB Eshleman Hall . 32by32 . 4 March 1986.
5. Web site: Farallon PhoneNET StarController . Vintage Computing Wiki.
6. Web site: Knight . Daniel . Farallon EtherWave FAQ . LowEndMac . 17 June 2014.
7. Web site: EtherWave Adapters . Farallon, a division of Proxim . 17 August 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000817051243/http://www.farallon.com/products/ether/adapters/ewmprad.html . 2000-08-17 .
8. Web site: Mk.558 . Classic Mac Networking . 23 November 2021.
9. Web site: AirDock with Open Transport . Farallon . 24 May 1998. https://web.archive.org/web/19980524084255/http://www.farallon.com/product/infrared/AirDockOT.html . 1998-05-24 .
10. Web site: Farallon AirDock . Vintage Computer Wiki . 23 November 2021.
11. Web site: Farallon EtherWave AAUI Transceiver . Vintage Computing Wiki . 23 November 2021.
12. Web site: 2001-04-12 . DoBox . 2022-03-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010412103514/http://dobox2.webpipe.net:80/ . 2001-04-12 .
13. Web site: April 1, 2002 . Netopia acquires DoBox . 2022-03-30 . www.bizjournals.com.
14. Book: Magazines, Hearst . Popular Mechanics . April 1, 2002 . Hearst Magazines . 2002 . 86 . en.
15. Web site: 2002-01-18 . Utah-based DoBox wins coveted award in Vegas . 2022-03-30 . Deseret News . en.
16. Web site: Motorola Acquires Netopia To Beef Up Its Connected Home Strategy. 2014-01-06.
17. News: Guison . Duey . What Happened to Netopia?. August 21, 2024 . unbox.ph. August 21, 2024.