AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system

E736558

Apple networking hardware system computer networking technology

AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system, also known as LocalTalk, was Apple’s low-speed, inexpensive networking technology used primarily in the 1980s and early 1990s to connect Macintosh computers and peripherals.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
AppleTalk Personal Network	2
AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8471041 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system
Context triple: [LocalTalk, alternativeName, AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system]

A. AppleTalk Echo Protocol
AppleTalk Echo Protocol is a diagnostic network service in the AppleTalk suite used to test connectivity and measure round-trip communication between AppleTalk nodes.
B. AppleTalk Session Protocol
AppleTalk Session Protocol is a higher-level AppleTalk networking component that manages and maintains communication sessions between devices in Apple’s classic Macintosh networking environment.
C. AppleTalk
AppleTalk was Apple’s proprietary suite of networking protocols that enabled file and printer sharing and other communication services between Macintosh computers and devices.
D. AppleTalk Data Stream Protocol
AppleTalk Data Stream Protocol is a reliable, connection-oriented transport protocol in the AppleTalk networking suite, analogous to TCP in the TCP/IP model.
E. AppleTalk Phase 2
AppleTalk Phase 2 is an enhanced version of Apple’s AppleTalk networking protocol that expanded addressing capabilities and improved support for larger, more complex Macintosh networks.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system
Target entity description: AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system, also known as LocalTalk, was Apple’s low-speed, inexpensive networking technology used primarily in the 1980s and early 1990s to connect Macintosh computers and peripherals.

A. AppleTalk Echo Protocol
AppleTalk Echo Protocol is a diagnostic network service in the AppleTalk suite used to test connectivity and measure round-trip communication between AppleTalk nodes.
B. AppleTalk Session Protocol
AppleTalk Session Protocol is a higher-level AppleTalk networking component that manages and maintains communication sessions between devices in Apple’s classic Macintosh networking environment.
C. AppleTalk
AppleTalk was Apple’s proprietary suite of networking protocols that enabled file and printer sharing and other communication services between Macintosh computers and devices.
D. AppleTalk Data Stream Protocol
AppleTalk Data Stream Protocol is a reliable, connection-oriented transport protocol in the AppleTalk networking suite, analogous to TCP in the TCP/IP model.
E. AppleTalk Phase 2
AppleTalk Phase 2 is an enhanced version of Apple’s AppleTalk networking protocol that expanded addressing capabilities and improved support for larger, more complex Macintosh networks.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Apple networking hardware system ⓘ computer networking technology ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	LocalTalk ⓘ
category	Apple Inc. networking hardware ⓘ Local area networks ⓘ
characteristic	inexpensive ⓘ low-speed ⓘ
compatibleWith	AppleTalk Phase 1 ⓘ AppleTalk Phase 2 ⓘ
connectsDeviceType	Apple LaserWriter printers ⓘ Apple file servers ⓘ AppleTalk bridges and routers ⓘ Macintosh computers ⓘ linked to: Apple Macintosh computers
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
dataRate	230.4 kbit/s ⓘ
designedFor	home networks ⓘ small office networks ⓘ
developer	Apple Computer, Inc. ⓘ linked to: Apple Inc.
introducedWith	early Macintosh models ⓘ
layer	data link layer ⓘ physical layer ⓘ
marketedAs	Personal Network ⓘ
maximumNodesPerSegment	32 ⓘ
maximumSegmentLength	approximately 1000 feet ⓘ
networkTopology	bus topology ⓘ
notableFeature	no manual address configuration required ⓘ plug-and-play network configuration ⓘ
partOf	AppleTalk ⓘ
physicalMedium	shielded twisted pair cable ⓘ telephone-style cabling ⓘ unshielded twisted pair cable ⓘ
region	primarily North America ⓘ
requires	LocalTalk adapter ⓘ LocalTalk cabling ⓘ linked to: LocalTalk cabling system
status	obsolete ⓘ
supersededBy	EtherTalk ⓘ Ethernet ⓘ TokenTalk ⓘ
supportsProtocol	AppleTalk ⓘ
usedFor	connecting Apple peripherals ⓘ connecting Macintosh computers ⓘ
usedInPeriod	1980s ⓘ early 1990s ⓘ
usedWithOperatingSystem	Classic Mac OS ⓘ System 6 ⓘ System 7 ⓘ linked to: System 7 (early versions)
usesAccessMethod	CSMA/CA ⓘ
usesConnectorType	Mini-DIN-8 connectors ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

LocalTalk → marketedAs → AppleTalk Personal Network ⓘ

linked to: AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system

LocalTalk → alternativeName → AppleTalk Personal Network cabling system ⓘ

LocalTalk cabling system → alternativeName → AppleTalk Personal Network ⓘ