joel@quiche (Joel MALARD) (11/10/89)
Running IBM Software on a Mac (Digest). Accept all my apologies if you have already seen this digest which apparently didn't made it to the comp.sys.apple news group. Software and hardawre solutions were sent back. Software: SoftPC is a XT emulator that runs on the MacII Approximative price listings went from around $149 with educational discount to $250 including DOS and GWBASIC. But those prices may already have changed? SoftPC presumably runs at about 4 mhz on a se/30. The specs for SoftPC sent by Jeff Barbose ( jb28+@andrew.cmu.edu) are listed below: # intel 8088 # 640K # CGA card/color mon # uses Superdrive directly if you have it. # Supports C: as HD by creating a dynamically-sized Mac folder. # You also have access to Mac documents. that are mounted. # Microsoft Bus-mouse emulation # Com1: and COM2: are emulated by using Mac serial ports A & B # or by read/writing to a text file. # Parallel port: printing directed to Parallel port (LPT1:) # is translated and passed to chooser-selected device. # XT-compatible BIOS emulation # # OS: DOS 3.3, GWBASIC. Hardware: Brian Arnold's (ba0k+@andrew.cmu.edu) answer is the most complete i received. I would do no good trying to summarise it. Here it goes: # my first suggestion is don't consider running IBM software on Macs, #since Mac-specific software tends to be infinitely better. # # my second suggestion is that if your concern is really file #compatibility, e.g. you have files on your PC that you don't want to #abandon, then analyze Mac applications that support formats of files #created on IBM PCs. Examples include Excel reading PC Excel and PC #Lotus 123 files, WordPerfect reading PC WordPerfect and other files, the #list can be very long. In addition, many PC and Mac programs handle #"save as text only" types of file-saving commands, and most Mac programs #can read text-only files into their Mac formats. An example of this #which I've recently done is with a Lotus 123 spreadsheet, saving as text #only and reading into Excel, which turned out fine. I have the luxury #of having our campus' Andrew network to transfer files between PC's and #Macs at CMU, but most people don't. Advice I gave one PC/Mac owner in #Washington DC was to buy a $20 serial null-modem cable and I gave him #the PC and Mac "kermit" software to transfer files - this is the #cheapest solution to the problem of maintaining or using IBM-originated #files on a Mac. Add the cost of modems ($100 to $500) if your PC and #Mac aren't within 30 feet of each other. # # third, let's make sure you understand IBM software can't run on a #Macintosh without additional expensive hardware or software - so #expensive that you should wonder why you're making the effort not to buy #a cheap PC clone instead. The first piece of hardware to worry about is #a disk drive or mutual network access - you can't keep IBM programs on #Mac disks and still be able to run them [as far as I know presently]. I #believe the latest tools for running IBM software on a Mac recognize #3-1/2" PS/2 disks in Mac IIx, IIcx, IIci, SE/30 and similar Macs #configured with 1.4 MB floppy drives. For older Macs (Plus, SE #manufactured prior to July 89, vanilla II), or if you need to use PC #5-1/4" disks or otherwise, you need to buy an external floppy drive for #the appropriate format, and Apple and other third-party makers make such #drives ($300-$800). Even if other hardware or software allows Mac hard #disks to store IBM programs and files, you'll need this extra drive (or #a compatible network connection to both your Mac and PC) to get them #onto your Macintosh. To actually run IBM PC software, there are two #major alternatives (there may be other competitors). SoftPC is software #that lets you run IBM PC software within a window under the MultiFinder. # I can't remember who markets SoftPC but the cost is around $600-$900. #SoftPC is the cheapest solution, but it's slow emulation for IBM PC #programs (they run slow). Orange Micro Inc., (800) 223-8029, sells #Mac286 cards for Mac II's to give you AT-speeds, and Mac86 cards for Mac #SE's to give you XT-speeds. Both cards come with software that allows #you to run IBM software in a Mac window under the MultiFinder. These #cards run I believe from $1K to $3K if I'm not mistaken. I don't think #there are solutions for a Mac Plus. # # I hope some of this is of help to you. Thank all of you for your answers and comments. Joel Malard INTER: joel@oliver.cs.mcgill.ca