blumin@spectra.COM (julia blumin) (08/01/89)
I would like to find out how compatible the atari.st is to the Macintosh's. I've been thinking about buying a Macintosh, but I've understood it would be wise of me to look into an atari system. Anyone with info, please help me out. -Julia
themod@blake.acs.washington.edu (Chris Hinton) (08/01/89)
In article <201@spectra.COM> blumin@spectra.COM (julia blumin) writes: > > I would like to find out how compatible the atari.st is to > the Macintosh's. If you want to know if an off-the-shelf Atari ST can run Macintosh software, then the answer is no. But, there are these wonderful devices that you can purchase along with your ST that give you the ability to run most, if not all, existing Mac software. I cannot quote any prices, but I am quite sure that the system would end up costing much less than the overpriced Mac, and you will have the ability to run software for both systems. Chris Hinton ---- themod@blake.acs.washington.edu Mod Software Systems Seattle, Wa 98195 "Why didn't you tell me he had one of those... things?" - The Joker. "My life is really...complex." - Bruce Wayne. "Excuse me... What does God need with a starship?" - James T. Kirk.
david.megginson@canremote.uucp (DAVID MEGGINSON) (08/04/89)
The ST is not, by nature, compatible with the Mac. In fact, it is (on the surface) more compatible with the IBM computers, because it uses the same floppy disk format. However, inside the ST is very similar to the Mac. Several companies have offered hardware additions to the ST or Megas which allow them to run Mac software. I've heard that the best is Spectre 128, which runs Hypercard, Adobe Illustrator, etc. It actually uses a Mac 128k ROM, so it is very compatible. If you want to use Mac disks, however, you will have to buy a special converter box for your disk drive, which will cost a couple more hundreds. In the end, take a close look at the software available for the ST itself. It is often as good or better (I've used the Mac too), and tends to cost half or a third as much, like the ST. --- * Via ProDoor 3.0R