NETWORK EFFICIENCY is the advantage of the first switched hub from Asante (800-662-9686 or 408-435-8388; http://www.asante.com). Dubbed the ReadySwitch, the $2,195 hub has four 10BASE-T ports plus a 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet port for connection to a high-speed backbone. Also new for Asante is a managed Fast Ethernet hub with a fiber-optic port. The AsanteFAST 100 TX/FX ($1,995) contains eight 100BASE-TX ports plus a 100BASE-FX port for WAN or backbone connection.
You can mount Mac volumes on Windows 95 desktops with version 5.5 of Personal MACLAN Connect ($199 per PC; upgrade, $99), from Miramar (800-862-2526 or 805-966-2432; http://www.miramarsys.com). The first release to support Microsoft's new OS, MACLAN Connect lets PC users mount and use AppleShare and other AFP volumes and gives them access to networked printers. Windows 95 users can also now print to non-PostScript printers.
An upgrade to NFS/Share, from InterCon Systems (703-709-5500; http://www.intercon.com), promises speedier access to UNIX files for Mac users who mount NFS volumes on their desktops. According to the company, version 1.4 is three times as fast as its predecessor. NFS/Share costs $295 per node; upgrades are $79 (or free for those who purchased version 1.3.9 within the previous 90 days).
Modem vendor Zyxel (800-255-4101 or 714-693-0808) has combined an ISDN BRI (basic-rate interface) with a V.34 modem in the new Prestige 2864I Remote Access Router, expected to ship this quarter. Intended for small offices and some home environments, the router has an Ethernet port for connection to a LAN. It supports AppleTalk, IP, and IPX protocols and is priced at around $1,000.
NetWorker backup servers, from Legato Systems (415-812-6000), now support Mac users. ClientPak for Macintosh ($1,500 per server) allows user- or administrator-initiated backup of Macs to the company's UNIX or Windows NT-based NetWorker server.
Siren Mail, from Siren Software (800-457-4736 or 415-322-0600), is a MIME-compliant client/server mail system designed for organizations that use the Internet rather than a LAN for their e-mail network. Siren Mail Client for Macintosh ($100 per user) can use companywide address books stored on the Siren server. Siren Mail Server costs $2,995 and runs on various UNIX and Windows platforms. Siren plans to release Power Mac-native client software later this year.
