This card amused me and has puzzled many friends and acquaintances over the years. It is indeed as simple as it looks, an ISA card with a momentary switch connecting two pins on the card slot. The back is just as simple as the front. I not sure as to what it was use for, my best guess is that it was used to manually trigger an interrupt for hardware developers.
If you have a good idea as to what it is, please contact me so I can update this post.
On one end is a parallel port connection. The other has a an rj45 ethernet jack and a barrel plug connecting to an inline ps2 style connector. Yep, this is indeed a parallel port ethernet adapter. The ps2 plug provides power from the keyboard port to the adapter. A particularly nice touch, is that the red stripe is a rubber belt with notches on it that when spun around the body turns the screws that lock the adapter to the port.
I last used this in college on a Windows ME laptop with a dead pcmcia slot. It wasn't particularly fast, it chewed up the processor, but it provided enough of a network connection to transfer all the data off of the machine. It's a neat device, but considering USB has basically been standard since Pentium IIs, and USB flash disks and ethernet adapters are so cheap, this has been relegated to my shelf of cool old stuff.
Intel (who purchased Xircom in 2001) has a support site (including drivers) up for the product.
From my shelf of amusing old stuff; an accessory kit from ATI to add ferrite cores to "non-ferrited" video cables.
In the box are some ferrite cores, zip ties, and instructions (front, back). While there is no date on any of the material, the instructions do give an idea as to when the product was made, the image of the video connector appears to show a 9 pin one, likely for a CGA monitor. That is all.
My office is littered with random computer paraphernalia. Some are parts that are still useful, many others are antiquated and would be considered trash by most people. This bit is one that I find too amusing to even consider throwing out. In the box is A Devoke Data Products Disk-Pro-Tek Floppy Disk Reinforcing Kit. As the instructions (scan) state, they "Extend the life of your flexible discs and mini-flexible discs by strengthening the spindle hole and thereby substantially reducing the chances of disc dimpling, coating removal, and permanent distortion."
While I never actually used 8 in. floppies, I used plenty of 5 in. ones and rarely had issues that this kit would solve. Overly paranoid computer users do all sorts of silly things (for example d_skin Protective Disc Skins). If a particular disk is that valuable, a copy should be made and the copy should be the one used on a regular basis.
These are the actual reinforcement labels. They basically work like the reinforcements thatare used with standard paper hole punches.
This kit includes a double sided (one side is for floppies (8 in.) and the other for mini-floppies (5 in.)) applicator.
