>> The configuration is a i386 machine as serial console terminal using
>> the parallel port, and a macppc machine I want to connect to, using
>> the mini-DIN 8 modem line.
> There is no parallel port in what you describe.

I'm not sure what you think the string "parallel port" refers to, then.

>> I found a serial/mini-DIN 8 cable, used to connect to a professional
>> sound card.
> A sound card?  Make sure you use a continuity tester to check out the
> pins on that cable; just plugging it in may fry something.

Provided what's on each end really is a serial port, this is extremely
unlikely.  RS232 is very tolerant; every input and output must be
impedance-limited (I think it's something like, any two pins may be
shorted together, or any pin may be shorted to ground, indefinitely,
without damage).

Now, if one end is plugged into something other than a serial port,
yes, it could fry something.

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