[comp.sys.mac] FreeTerm 2.0 -- Doesn't work under MagicSac?

tim@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Tim Northrup) (11/07/87)

FreeTerm 2.0 which was recently posted to the MacIntosh binaries group
doesn't appear to work using the MagicSac on the Atari ST.  This seems
strange seeing as the Data Pacific folks tout FreeTerm 1.8 as *the*
terminal package to use with the Sac.

Does FreeTerm 2.0 work with version 4.5x of the MagicSac driver?
(I am using 4.36 -- latest from CompuServe)

Any help would be appreciated.
-- 
tim@brspyr1.BRS.Com
uunet!steinmetz!brspyr1!tim
============================================    Tim "The Enchanter" Northrup

jcc@ut-ngp.UUCP (J. Chris Cooley) (11/12/87)

In article <2137@brspyr1.BRS.Com>, tim@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Tim Northrup) writes:
> 
> FreeTerm 2.0 which was recently posted to the MacIntosh binaries group
> doesn't appear to work using the MagicSac on the Atari ST.  This seems
> strange seeing as the Data Pacific folks tout FreeTerm 1.8 as *the*
> terminal package to use with the Sac.
> 
> Does FreeTerm 2.0 work with version 4.5x of the MagicSac driver?
> (I am using 4.36 -- latest from CompuServe)

Isn't MagicSac that thing that needs Apple ROMs to operate?

Where'd you get your ROMs?

ravi@mcnc.UUCP (11/12/87)

>>
>> Does FreeTerm 2.0 work with version 4.5x of the MagicSac driver?
>> (I am using 4.36 -- latest from CompuServe)
>
>Isn't MagicSac that thing that needs Apple ROMs to operate?
>
>Where'd you get your ROMs?


	You typically just buy them from an apple, or electronics
parts dealer.  The Magic Sac is actually quite fussy about wanting to
use (Apple) ROMS (ie. EPROMS don't work).

								-ravi

tainter@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Tainter) (11/14/87)

In article <2655@alvin.mcnc.UUCP>, ravi@mcnc.UUCP (Ravi Subrahmanyan) writes:
> 	You typically just buy them from an apple, or electronics
> parts dealer.  The Magic Sac is actually quite fussy about wanting to
> use (Apple) ROMS (ie. EPROMS don't work).
> 								-ravi

This isn't the problem it might appear to be.

First,  the  ROMS are  quite  readily  available.

Second,  Apple people have been helping the Magic Sac's developer
to   improve   the  product.   In fact,  there  is talk that with
the help he has been getting from Apple he might reverse  himself
and  produce  a  128K   ROMs   version  after  all  (he  had said
previously that he had no plans  to do so).  Apple doesn't view ,
and  I  agree  with  them,  the Atari + Magic Sac as competition.
Their view is that it is of a good cheap form of advertising  for
them  and  helps  to  keep  the   software  production for  their
system  from  being chiseled at by  Atari  Developers.   Software
houses  won't  bother   to   produce  a  port   to    the   Atari
native abomination system  if they  can just  support  the  Magic
Sac with their Macintosh version.


--j.a.tainter

lsr@apple.UUCP (Larry Rosenstein) (11/17/87)

In article <4254@ihlpg.ATT.COM> tainter@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Tainter) writes:
>
>First,  the  ROMS are  quite  readily  available.

This may be true, but the 64K ROMs are no longer being produced.  This means
the number of ROMs is fixed, of which some have been returned to Apple
already.  I suppose people could be copying the ROMs; if so, they are doing
this illegally, and our Legal Department would like to talk to them. 

>Second,  Apple people have been helping the Magic Sac's developer
>to   improve   the  product.   In fact,  there  is talk that with
>the help he has been getting from Apple he might reverse  himself
>and  produce  a  128K   ROMs   version  after  all  (he  had said

I find it difficult to believe that Apple (as a company) is helping improve
the Magic Sac.  I have read that Andy Hertzfeld helped (I don't know if this
is true or not), but he is not an Apple employee and doesn't represent Apple
at all.  

I don't agree with the logic that improving Magic Sac helps Apple.  It
encourages people to buy Atari hardware instead of Macintoshes, which is
directly against Apple's interests.  The number of Magic Sacs in the world
is very small, so it doesn't influence software developers either.  

If Apple was supporting this, there would be press releases, articles, etc.
so that everyone would know about it.  

-- 
Larry Rosenstein

Object Specialist
Apple Computer

AppleLink: Rosenstein1
UUCP:  {sun, voder, nsc, mtxinu, dual}!apple!lsr
CSNET: lsr@Apple.com

dsmall@well.UUCP (David Small) (11/26/87)

In the referenced reply, Larry Rosenstein at Apple (lsr@apple)
mentions that Apple isn't helping the developers of the Magic Sac,
and so forth.
  Larry is absolutely correct. Gads, I wish there *was* someone at
Apple I could ask questions of. There isn't.
  I also suspect the rumour that Andy helped us out is one of those legends
that develops from nowhere. He hasn't, though I wish he had.. :-)
  Finally, yes, we do detect&fail with copies of Eproms, and yes, the
supply of 64K ROMs is limited. (very). This is one big reason we're
moving to products that don't require said ROMS anymore -- IBM PC cards
and such. We can't have our livelihood dependent on ROM availability,
especially these days.
 -- Thanks, Dave
Dave Small / Engineer / Data Pacific / We Makes Le Magique Sac..