pat@leadsv.UUCP (Pat Wimmer) (02/08/89)
I've never posted to this group before, so if I am opening a discussion which has been beaten to death, I am sorry. Since this is likely the case, it would probably be sufficient to mail me directly, and not waste everyone else's time. Anyway, I have owned a 520 ST for several years now. My wife, an accountant, wants to work part time. She used MACS where she worked, and doesn't want to change. Since I cannot afford to shell out $2K, or so, I thought I would explore converting my ST to a MAC, be it slow, or otherwise. If anyone has a list of companies which support this, including procuring the ROMS, I would appreciate knowing about it. Also, if anyone has actually done this, I would like to know what you think. Thanks, Pat
Xorg@cup.portal.com (Peter Ted Szymonik) (02/10/89)
By far the best (and only as far as I'm concerned) Mac emulator for the ST is Spectre 128 by Gadgets by Small. This baby uses real Mac ROMS and actually runs faster than a stock Mac Plus and sometimes the SE (my system runs at 98% SE speed!) To be honest though, you really need at least 1 meg to be able to do much of anything and even that will leave you with only 832K free to play with - so a few Mac programs that require 1 meg may be streching it a bit and cause problems. I use it on a Mega 2 and have no problems running MS File, Word, PageMaker, Ready Set Go, HyperCard, etc. All at speeds *faster* than the Mac I use at work! The large majority of programs that cause problems are PD programs that do bizarre programming tricks or programs that need to directly access Mac hardware (like MIDI and other such things.) But considering that you can buy a Mega 2 CPU for around $1000-1200 (I bought mine for $995 new) and the whole Spectre set-up will run $300-500 you can get a very nice system for less than the price of a Mac Plus! Pete
laba-2he@web-1c.berkeley.edu (Oliver Juang) (02/14/89)
A Mac Plus costs less than a Mega 2 system equipped with Spectre 128; by several hundred dollars, in fact. Also, Word has problems with Spectre, contrary to what you said in your article. David Small has been hunting for the "Out of Memory" bug in Word for a long time. --- I saw an article earlier from Wolf who wanted to know how he can use RLL hard disks with the BMS controller. The BMS controller supports RLL but only with an Adaptec 4070. Lawrence Y. Chiu -- University of California, Berkeley.
Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) (02/27/89)
I'm not really sure how to contribute to Pat's question concerning using the ST as a Mac since I'n new in navigating on the net. At any rate, the ST emulates the Mac with blinding speed and few problems. Gadgets by Small (303) 791-6098 @ 40 W. Littleton Blvd., #210-211, Littleton, Colorado 80120, has the best emulator. I'm running the emulator on a Mega2 and love it. There has been no speed loss or anything. I use FullWrite for all of my writing needs and Excel for other reasons. My terminal software is Red Ryder. Listing these software items should indicate the power of the emulator. Obviously, one desiring to emulate the Mac should have a monochrome monitor and preferably a hard drive. With this type of combination, the ST expands its power considerably. On yeah, one negative note. The emulator will not recognize Mac disks. Software has to be either converted by a box called the Discovery or by means of telecommunications via null modem cableing or telecommunications to a format recognizable by the ST. It is really a minor hassle. Larry Rymal <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>
Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) (03/06/89)
I have to agree also about Spectre being the best emulator of the Mac
for the ST. Using a modest investment, I have a completely different and
incredibly powerful computer system.
I now get to use the software that is not available for my ST, such as,
FullWrite, Excell, etc.
Excellent machine, excellent emulator, incredible value for the money.
Larry Rymal <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>