mp1u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Portuesi) (05/16/89)
I received the following letter from Central Coast Software today: Dear Customer, Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding Mac-2-Dos. We are receiving many letters with similar questions, so in the interest of time we have chosen to reply in this way. Mac-2-Dos is a file transfer utility which permits the Amiga to read and write files to and from standard 400K (single-sided) and 800K (double-sided) Macintosh floppy disks using a standard, unmodified Macintosh or third-party Mac-compatible 3.5-inch external disk drive. Mac-2-Dos transfers one file per command, although it does support wild cards for multiple files per command. Mac-2-Dos includes file conversion software to permit some types of files to be converted into the appropriate format for the target machine. Mac-2-Dos can, under certain circumstances, make use of the Mac drive to read and write AmigaDOS diskettes. This means that the Mac drive can serve as an additional AmgiaDOS drive when it is not needed for Mac file transfers. Please note: Mac-2-Dos is NOT an emulator, and it DOES NOT permit Mac programs to run on the Amiga. Mac-2-Dos runs only on the Amiga. It includes a custom hardware interface, driver software, file conversion software, and, optionally, a Mac-compatible 3.5-inch floppy drive. The hardware interface plugs into the Amiga external disk drive connector or into the last external drive of the daisy-chained disk drives, if any. The Mac drive MUST be the last drive of the chain, and you cannot exceed the Amiga design limit of three external drives (including the Mac drive). The Mac drive draws its power from the Amiga, which can be a problem for A500 owners who already have one external drive. We do not offer an external power supply at this time, although we may if there is sufficient demand. Mac-2-Dos does convert MacPaint files to and from Amiga IFF and Mac ASCII to and from Amiga ASCII. Many of you have suggested that we provide conversions for your own favorite Mac and/or Amiga file formats. We appreciate your suggestions, since it helps us develop a consensus. But we have not yet decided which other file conversions we will support. We cannot support every possible conversion. And we prefer not to delay shipping the product while we develop additional conversion options. We expect to add more conversion options as later enhancements to the product. We will, of course, inform our customers as we add more conversion options in the future. Such upgrades may be free, but we reserve the right to charge for upgrades if they add significant functionality. With regard to Macintosh external drives, we have successfully tested Mac-2-Dos with all the various Apple and third-party drives we have been able to get our hands on. If you already own a Mac-compatibel external drive, you WILL be able to use it with Mac-2-Dos on an Amiga to transfer Mac files. However, we already know that Apple's own Mac external drive CANNOT be used to read/write AmigaDOS disks. For that reason, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to read/write AmigaDOS disks unless you purchase the Mac drive as a part of the Mac-2-Dos package. We can gurantee that the Mac-compatible drive we provide WILL read and write AmigaDOS disks. Mac-2-Dos is fully AmigaDOS compatible, and conforms fully with the published hardware and software guidelines for the Amiga. We cannot, however, gurantee compatibility with other products which may use the Amiga in non-standard ways. Everyone wants the product immediately. We expect to begin shipping Mac-2-Dos in June, 1989. We are sorry that it has taken so long to get this product ready, but we thing you will be pleased with the result of our efforts. The product will be available from the normal Amiga distribution channels and directly from Central Coast Software. We accept VISA and MasterCard, or we can ship COD with company checks. Prices are not yet se and subject to change without notice, but we are targeting the full package at $349 with the Mac drive and $99 without the drive. Shipping and handling should be less than $10. Many of you have offered to be "beta" testers. We appreciate your interest, but we must limit the number of testers and they must be well qualified for this work. This is a hardware/software product which costs us much more to produce than a software-only product. So our investment in "free" copies must be severely limited. Thank you for your interest in Mac-2-Dos. Sincerely, Betty and George Chamberlain Co-owners Central Coast Software 424 Vista Avenue Golden, Colorado 80401 (303)526-1030 FAX (303)526-0520 -- Michael Portuesi * Information Technology Center * Carnegie Mellon University INTERNET: mp1u+@andrew.cmu.edu * BITNET: mp1u+@andrew UUCP: ...harvard!andrew.cmu.edu!mp1u+ MAIL: Carnegie Mellon University, P.O. Box 259, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
uzun@pnet01.cts.com (Roger Uzun) (10/14/89)
Does anyone else have Mac-2-Dos? I got it yesterday and have a 400k
mac drive that works perfectly with a mac, but when hooked up to
mac-2-dos it will not read/write disks reliably always
gets Mac Drive Read Errors, even on disks it reads and writes to
exclusively. Good disks that are readable by this drive when
it is hooked to a mac are only partially readable by this
drive when it is hooked to mac-2-dos. Should I try and get
another drive?
The version of Mac-2-Dos software that I have is 1.0 is there
a later version?
-Roger
UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!uzun
ARPA: crash!pnet01!uzun@nosc.mil
INET: uzun@pnet01.cts.comportuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (10/16/89)
In article <524@crash.cts.com> uzun@pnet01.cts.com (Roger Uzun) writes:
Does anyone else have Mac-2-Dos?
Yes, I do.
I got it yesterday and have a 400k
mac drive that works perfectly with a mac, but when hooked up to
mac-2-dos it will not read/write disks reliably always
gets Mac Drive Read Errors, even on disks it reads and writes to
exclusively. Good disks that are readable by this drive when
it is hooked to a mac are only partially readable by this
drive when it is hooked to mac-2-dos. Should I try and get
another drive?
Funny. I also have a Mac 400K drive, but my problems are a bit
different from yours. I have few problems reading disks that are
created by a Macintosh, but disks created or written to by Mac-2-Dos
cannot be read by a Macintosh. So far, three SE's and two IIcx's
refuse to read disks created by Mac-2-Dos and my 400K drive.
I strongly suspect my 400K drive is out of alignment, because its
eject mechanism is out of order (it may have been subjected to some
mistreatment when I moved from Pittsburgh to San Francisco).
I have a "new" 400K drive on the way to me from one of my Mac-owning
friends, and I'll hook up my current 400K drive to a IIcx to test it
out.
The version of Mac-2-Dos software that I have is 1.0 is there
a later version?
-Roger
Not that I know of. Mine is 1.0, dated August 16, 1989 or some date
close to that.
--M
--
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\/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Inc.
portuesi@SGI.COM