MARKS-ROGER@YALE.ARPA (01/16/87)
Dale <Macdonald.PA@Xerox.COM> asks for first-hand confirmation that
Macwrite runs on the Magic Sac.
Yes. Macwrite 2.2 does run, without any problems apparent to me. Macwrite
4.5 does not run. Documents written in 4.5 cannot be read in formatted form
by 2.2, but 2.2 documents can be read by 4.5.
This information is valid for the latest version of the Sac software, posted
1/7/87 on Compuserve (Sac version 3.5).
The Sac runs quite a few useful programs, but it can be quite frustrating.
It crashes too often, and restarts take longer than I'm used to with the
ST. Plus, it's a Macintosh, of the pre-Mac Plus variety, and that means you
need to have the patience of a ST. On the positive side, programs that run
usually do so consistently once you find out what to avoid, many run quickly
in a ramdisk, and David Small et. al. seem to be continually improving the
thing and keeping their customers up to date.
In running the Sac, I've found out a little about the Mac and why it spends so
much time on disc access. It's those windows and icons--it has to store
infomation on all the icons and where they are in the window. I remember
initial complaints about the Desktop to the effect that icons refused to stay
where you put them. With the time you save, you could rearrange them
yourself.
>>Roger Marks
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