[comp.sys.m68k] Macintosh emulator

smcgee%fuggles.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Scott Mcgee) (06/02/91)

I understand that there is some sort of hard or soft (or both) ware package
availible to let other 680x0 CPU machines pretend to be a MAC. (Well, at least
I've heard it is availible for the Amiga). I am expecting an MM/1 (a Signetics
68070 [68000 equivelent] CPU) next week and would like any info anyone might
have on this subject.

Scott

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kdarling@hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) (06/04/91)

> I understand that there is some sort of hard or soft (or both) ware
> package available to let other 680x0 CPU machines pretend to be a MAC.
> (Well, at least I've heard it is availible for the Amiga). 
> I am expecting an MM/1 (a Signetics 68070 [68000 equivelent] CPU) next
> week and would like any info anyone might have on this subject.

They don't just pretend to be a Mac, they're actually running a modified
version of the Mac OS... which requires having Mac ROMs (now in short
supply, I hear, as previous "large" supplies turned out to be from one
lone guy who was making very lookalike ROMs).  Read: he was caught.

In any case, one major requirement _may_ be having a B&W (one bit/pixel)
display mode (Mac types?  Is that right?  I'm not up on this stuff. thx!)
which the MM/1 doesn't have.... altho a fairly cheap and simple addon board
could be built to take the 16-color hires mode data output and drop it down
to 2-color output at quad horizontal resolution.

Both the Atari ST and Amiga have monochrome output modes already, which is
why their Mac "emulators" required little hardware other than a ROM holder.
Ummm, and methods of reading the non-standard Mac disks.  So the answer is:
it's possible, but not terribly probable in the very near future.
   best - kevin <kdarling@catt.ncsu.edu>

PS: OTOH, some company has created a clone of the Mac ROMs much as Phoenix
did for the IBM BIOS... which means: who knows for sure what will come?