msodos@megatest.UUCP (Marty Sodos) (06/26/87)
Has anyone seen a card yet for the SE's slot that makes it IBM compatible? Anyone know who's working on thedm and when they're due out?
stew@endor.harvard.edu (Stew Rubenstein) (06/29/87)
In article <1548@megatest.UUCP> msodos@megatest.UUCP (Marty Sodos) writes: > >Has anyone seen a card yet for the SE's slot that makes it IBM compatible? >Anyone know who's working on thedm and when they're due out? AST Research has announced one. You can find their address and phone number in any recent MacWorld or MacUser. Stew Rubenstein Cambridge Scientific Computing, Inc. UUCPnet: seismo!harvard!rubenstein CompuServe: 76525,421 Internet: rubenstein@harvard.harvard.edu MCIMail: : :
dgold@apple.UUCP (David Goldsmith) (06/29/87)
In article <1548@megatest.UUCP> msodos@megatest.UUCP (Marty Sodos) writes: >Has anyone seen a card yet for the SE's slot that makes it IBM compatible? >Anyone know who's working on thedm and when they're due out? Depending on what you mean by "compatible," there's 1) The Apple PC drive card and PC Drive 5.25, which lets you read and write 5.25" MS-DOS disks. 2) AST makes Mac86, an 8086 coprocessor card, to which you can also attach a 5.25" drive. It will run MS-DOS programs, although not concurrently with Mac software (it takes over the Mac's memory). 3) For the Mac II, AST's Mac286, an 80286 coprocessor, to which you can attach a 5.25" drive. Unlike Mac86, it has its own on-board memory, so you can use it simultaneously with Mac software, with the MS-DOS screen displayed in a window. It emulates MDA, CGA, and Hercules, with color on a color display. -- David Goldsmith Apple Computer, Inc. AppleLink: GOLDSMITH1 UUCP: {nsc,dual,sun,voder,ucbvax!mtxinu}!apple!dgold CSNET: dgold@apple.CSNET, dgold%apple@CSNET-RELAY BIX: dgoldsmith
cjdb@sphinx.uchicago.edu (Charles Blair) (06/30/87)
In article <1202@apple.UUCP> dgold@apple.UUCP (David Goldsmith) writes: >In article <1548@megatest.UUCP> msodos@megatest.UUCP (Marty Sodos) writes: >>Has anyone seen a card yet for the SE's slot that makes it IBM compatible? >>Anyone know who's working on thedm and when they're due out? > >Depending on what you mean by "compatible," there's > >1) The Apple PC drive card and PC Drive 5.25, which lets you read and write > 5.25" MS-DOS disks. >2) AST makes Mac86, an 8086 coprocessor card, to which you can also attach > a 5.25" drive. It will run MS-DOS programs, although not concurrently > with Mac software (it takes over the Mac's memory). >3) For the Mac II, AST's Mac286, an 80286 coprocessor, to which you can attach > a 5.25" drive. Unlike Mac86, it has its own on-board memory, so you can > use it simultaneously with Mac software, with the MS-DOS screen displayed > in a window. It emulates MDA, CGA, and Hercules, with color on a color > display. >-- >David Goldsmith >Apple Computer, Inc. Question: What version of DOS do these cards run? Does MS-DOS in the above really mean MS-DOS, or PC-DOS? Is Apple or AST licensing DOS? What are the limitations? How well-behaved does the PC program have to be? I mean, I find it hard to believe that I could fire up Crosstalk XVI and have it run on an SE or Mac II. Is the main usefulness of these things to exchange files between PC's and Mac's? I think these products lend an extra attractiveness to SE's and Mac II's, but unless they have things on them besides the CPU (like the UART, for example) I can't see them just running any PC software without a hitch. -- Bitnet: lib.cb@uchicago.bitnet Internet: lib.cb@chip.uchicago.edu uucp: ..!ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!cjdb
dgold@apple.UUCP (David Goldsmith) (07/01/87)
In article <2021@sphinx.uchicago.edu> cjdb@sphinx.UUCP (Charles Blair) writes: >Question: What version of DOS do these cards run? Does MS-DOS in the >above really mean MS-DOS, or PC-DOS? Is Apple or AST licensing DOS? >What are the limitations? How well-behaved does the PC program have to >be? I mean, I find it hard to believe that I could fire up Crosstalk >XVI and have it run on an SE or Mac II. Is the main usefulness of >these things to exchange files between PC's and Mac's? Since PC-DOS is a proprietary IBM product, only IBM can ship it. The boards are made and sold by AST, so AST licenses MS-DOS from Microsoft. The boards use a ROM BIOS from Phoenix, so I assume they could successfully run PC-DOS as well. The classic litmus tests for PC compatibility, Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Flight Simulator, both run fine on the boards (as you would expect with Phoenix doing the BIOS). Most programs should work just fine, except those that rely on extra hardware which isn't present on the card. Printing is supported, as is use of the Macintosh mouse emulating a Microsoft mouse. I don't know if use of a serial port for communications is supported; I sort of doubt it. For most PC applications, you have the basic hardware: CPU, floppy, hard disk, mouse, display, and printer. Unless you are running something that needs a special card, you should be OK. The cards were meant to run productivity software and similar applications, not, say, laboratory instrument management. This is where most companies have a big investment in data. For communications, you could run one of the many Macintosh communications packages, which are available with many features. Once you had downloaded a file from a mainframe using a Mac program, you could analyze the data with a PC program if you wanted. -- David Goldsmith Apple Computer, Inc. AppleLink: GOLDSMITH1 UUCP: {nsc,dual,sun,voder,ucbvax!mtxinu}!apple!dgold CSNET: dgold@apple.CSNET, dgold%apple@CSNET-RELAY BIX: dgoldsmith
korn@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Peter "Arrgh" Korn) (07/01/87)
One thing disturbs me about all the press releases and product information
I've seen on the AST 80286 board for the Mac II. They all say that the
board will make the Mac II hercules and CGA compatible. But with a color
Mac II why not go the added step of making it EGA compatible? (or go all
the way to make it compatible with IBM's new graphic standard?).
The 640x480 resolution of the Mac II is equal to PGA, and is greater than
IBM's EGA resolution (with only 16 colors displayed, it's almost
indistinguishable from the 'Super EGA' standard used by the Paradise and
Vega Delux cards--a resolution supported by Pagemaker and Ventura Publisher
via MS-Windows and GEM).
Is this just plain foolishness on AST's part? Or am I missing something here?
Peter
--
Peter "Arrgh" Korn Oh when, oh when will my MacII
korn@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU arrive? Oh where, oh
{decvax,dual,hplabs,sdcsvax,ulysses}!ucbvax!korn where can it be?merchant@dartvax.UUCP (Peter Merchant) (07/06/87)
In article <2021@sphinx.uchicago.edu>, cjdb@sphinx.uchicago.edu (Charles Blair) writes: > Question: What version of DOS do these cards run? Does MS-DOS in the > above really mean MS-DOS, or PC-DOS? Is Apple or AST licensing DOS? > What are the limitations? How well-behaved does the PC program have to > be? I mean, I find it hard to believe that I could fire up Crosstalk > XVI and have it run on an SE or Mac II. Is the main usefulness of > these things to exchange files between PC's and Mac's? > > I think these products lend an extra attractiveness to SE's and Mac > II's, but unless they have things on them besides the CPU (like the > UART, for example) I can't see them just running any PC software > without a hitch. They don't. The cards have an 8086 (or 80286) processor. I believe they convert the Macintosh modem and printer ports to COM1: or COM2:. Thus, any program that specificially plays with the serial controller chip on the IBM PC, such as CrossTalk, will not run on the Mac. The solution, of course, is to use SmartCom. :^) I think that the main usefulness is to get them through the doors of companies that already have an MS-DOS standard. Also, I suppose, it would allow you to use various PC programs as well as Macintosh programs. For example, I have yet to see an equivalent of MathCAD for the Macintosh (let me know if you know of one), so I can use MathCAD and take information from there and paste it into WriteNow or Word or whatever turns me on. Of course, the price is such that it's almost cheaper for me to go out and buy a 80286 clone than it is to buy one of these 80286 cards. -- "It don't mean nothin'..." Peter Merchant (merchant@dartvax.UUCP)
shibumi@well.UUCP (07/09/87)
In article <6606@dartvax.UUCP> merchant@dartvax.UUCP (Peter Merchant) writes: >The cards have an 8086 (or 80286) processor. I believe they convert the >Macintosh modem and printer ports to COM1: or COM2:. Thus, any program >that specificially plays with the serial controller chip on the IBM PC, such >as CrossTalk, will not run on the Mac. To quote AST, the SE card (8086) contains just the 8086, BUT the 80286 card duplicates everything on an AT motherboard (I assume their AT) (and b4 some wag cuts in, it does NOT include the slots). To use the card you run an application (which is said to be switcher compatable) on your mac. This application is said to do all the redirection etc. >I think that the main usefulness is to get them through the doors of companies >that already have an MS-DOS standard. Also, I suppose, it would allow you >to use various PC programs as well as Macintosh programs. For example, I >have yet to see an equivalent of MathCAD for the Macintosh (let me know if you >know of one), so I can use MathCAD and take information from there and paste >it into WriteNow or Word or whatever turns me on. > Didnt John Dvorak say this already? -- ! Kenton A. Hoover {hoptoad,hplabs,lll-lcc,ptsfa}!well!shibumi ! ! SNAIL: 1748 Clement Street ! ! Prescriptive Technology San Francisco, CA 94121 ! ! "Evil will always triumph over good because good is dumb!" !