trudel@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Jonathan D.) (12/16/86)
I just recently re-subscribed to this group, so forgive me if this has already been discussed. Are there any plans in the works (at apple or otherwise) to make a Mac emulator board for the gs? I think that there might be enough demand for such a monster, if it is technically possible. It doesn't make sense to me that Apple would cease its upward compatability course just because they had two "different" major computers. I would think that somewhere down the line, Apple was planning on making a computer that would be doubly Apple ][ and Mac compatible. In the meantime, couldn't they at least make a board that allows for crossover? Aside from that, how do the microfloppy formats of the ][ gs and Mac compare? What real differences are there between the Mac Finder and the ][ gs's windowing system? -- Real net users figure out the reply path themselves!
ranger@ecsvax.UUCP (Rick N. Fincher) (12/17/86)
> Are there any plans in the works (at apple or otherwise) to make a Mac > emulator board for the gs? I think that there might be enough demand There was a rumor in the EE Times about such a board. I'm kind of skeptical because Apple's stated policy is to provide file level compatibility for its machines and those of other manufacturers. > Aside from that, how do the microfloppy formats of the ][ gs and Mac > compare? What real differences are there between the Mac Finder and > the ][ gs's windowing system? The Prodos 3.5 inch disk format and the mac 3.5 inch format differ only in the structure the directories of the two systems. The drives are functionally identical. Software to convert from Mac to Prodos and back is available on the Mac now from several vendors and it is rumored that the new version of the //gs finder will be able to read both formats and transfer files between them. The //gs finder and the Mac finder are the same in appearance only, they are functionally very different. However, if you use the toolbox ROM routines to make the system call in your programs, converting from one machine to another weill involve only minor rewrites (theoretically). Rick Fincher ranger@ecsvax