lmc@denelcor.UUCP (Lyle McElhaney) (11/25/83)
A New Apple, Claiming to be IBM Compatible? A word from my friendly local Apple dealer: "The MACINTOSH has been the works for at least two years and there is still some debate on its ultimate configuration. Apple is expected to introduce its new contender early in 1984 and will pose a challenge to IBM's Peanut. Unlike the Peanut, a standard MacIntosh will include a monitor, professional keyboard, and a disk drive. It is expected to sell for about $2000, only 25% more than a fully loaded Peanut. The MacIntosh is a derivative of the Lisa. The MacIntosh is based on a 68000....it uses a newer, perhaps more sophisticated operating system than IBM's PC-DOS [???!!???!?]. Apple, however, is hedging its bets and plans to broaden the base of the software that will run on the MacIntosh. John Scully, Chief exec officer of Apple, has reportedly ordered the MacIntosh to be compatible with the PC. Just how Apple plans to achieve this compatibility remains to be seen [you ain't whistlin' Dixie there]. The MacIntosh is unlikely to have internal expansion slots, but Apple may be able to perform a little magic on the 68000 to allow it to use programs written for the other microprocessors. Several features may indeed make the MacIntosh more marketable. First, the MacIntosh is designed primarily for business applications; its larger memory capacity and high resolution monitor support that claim. Secondly, it will be promoted for use in education. (A university out East contracted for 3000, sight unseen [anyone know who?].) And third, several independent software developers have had the MacIntosh for the past 18 months, and when it is finally unveiled, buyers should find ample software support." For what its worth. Lyle McElhaney ..(hao,nbires,brl-bmd)!denelcor!lmc
jhb@ecsvax.UUCP (11/29/83)
Since I like my job, I can't comment on the speculations regarding
MacIntosh's features or prices. I thought I'd clarify how Apple is
making its machines IBM PC compatible.
To achieve compatiblility the Apple needs:
- Disk drives that work
- A new microprocessor
- A different memory configuration
All this is provided on something like the CP/M cards out there by
telling the 6502 to go to sleep and substituting a new processor. The
hardware still knows enough to call on the 6502 for I/O.
Emulating a PC is a little tougher, though, because one wants PC disks
to run on the system. Well, the PC uses the index holes on diskettes
(it's hard sectored). Apple diskettes are completely soft-sectored,
so Apple doesn't bother to install the extra hardware necessary for
hard-sectoring. This makes reading PC disks a bit tough.
The solution is to plug in a box that has the appropriate disk drives
in it. Apple has announced that Rana will be building these boxes.
The drives will be able to read either Apple or PC disks. The box
will also contain the new processor, etc.
Now, that's how it will work in the Apple II and III. I leave it as
an excercise for the student to guess how it will work for Macintosh.
- Joe Budge
Apple Computer