sysop@tlvx.UUCP (SysOp) (05/28/90)
In article <DEVEN.90May24083310@netserv2.rpi.edu>, deven@rpi.edu (Deven T. Corzine) writes: > > al158305@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx (GUSTAVO CORDOVA AVILA) writes: > > >the sun 386i system comes with softPc installed (i think, not 100% sure). > > On 22 May 90 01:23:55 GMT, farren@well.sf.ca.us (Mike Farren) said: > > Mike> It would be remarkably stupid if it did. Why would anyone want > Mike> to _emulate_ an Intel 8088 processor on an Intel 386 processor, > Mike> when they can just throw the chip into pseudo-8088 mode? > > There is a program which is standard on the Sun 386i to emulate a PC, I guess the emulator doesn't emulate the 8088, it's emulating the BIOS and/or MS-DOS. Anyway, I did play with a 386i over 2 years ago (only for a short demo; 2 Sun guys were showing it off as I recall). It ran Flight Simulator, emulating the CGA graphics. It was pretty fast as just a PC, and if you turned up the task priority, it really flew. (I don't remember specifics, but at the time it seemed to be among the fastest 386 clones). Anyway, it looked like a neat idea. You could even access the same disk both ways. It probably had other features. Why did the original poster say "soft pc" in reference to the sun? I agree, that much doesn't make sense. > in a window. It does indeed use the 8088 mode of the processor when > the task is running. Needless to say, it is a significant performance > hit on the system, but it DOES work, and you can have an arbitrary > number of virtual PC's on the 386i, all running under Unix. (sort of) > The only limitation I'm aware of is system resources such as CPU > cycles and VM, etc. > > Now, what does this have to do with the Amiga? Well, wouldn't it be nice to have, say, the Amiga 3000 running UNIX (much like the Sun 386i) and then run AmigaDOS programs (much like the 386i runs MS-DOS programs), at the same time? > > Deven > -- > Deven T. Corzine Internet: deven@rpi.edu, shadow@pawl.rpi.edu > Snail: 2151 12th St. Apt. 4, Troy, NY 12180 Phone: (518) 274-0327 > Bitnet: deven@rpitsmts, userfxb6@rpitsmts UUCP: uunet!rpi!deven > Simple things should be simple and complex things should be possible. As for Soft PC, does that run under A-max? While most people wouldn't want a software emulator apparently, I would, even if only for occassional use and maybe as a novelty. (If I really wanted a clone, I would have bought one; if I can get an emulator for, say, $250, that's a lot better than an 8088 based machine and another case to take up space for hundreds more.) I wondered if they had to do something special to read/write using Mac-compatible drives, and whether this worked with A-max. I've heard from just one source that Soft PC "looked real good" and even ran graphics reasonably well. (Transformer it's not! Heh.) Apparently you CAN make a reasonable clone emulator under software, even on a 68000 based machine. Another question I have that I have no idea about is the extent of the compatability. (There's also "PC Ditto on the Atari ST, which I am not familiar with except that what I saw of it years ago was more impressive than Transformer; text-based programs were fast enough, but CGA graphics painted horribly slow. I don't know if they ever fixed that.) (No, I don't have A-max either, but hey, this sounds like fun: an Amiga emulating the Mac emulating the Clone. I'd like to hear about it if someone's done this! I may not run out and do this, but you never can tell.... I need to save up pennies for the A3000 first, I think. :-) The worst thing is I really have no use for Mac or clone programs. I'm having too much fun with my Amiga! This is interesting though, and I'd still like to hear about it.) -- Gary Wolfe ..uflorida!unf7!tlvx!sysop, ..unf7!tlvx!sysop@bikini.cis.ufl.edu
andrew@teslab.lab.OZ (Andrew Phillips 289 8712) (05/30/90)
In article <319@tlvx.UUCP> sysop@tlvx.UUCP (SysOp) writes: >[deleted stuff about software PC emulation and SoftPC for Macintosh] > >Apparently you CAN make a reasonable clone emulator [SoftPC for Mac] >under software, even on a 68000 based machine. As was mentioned in a previous article SoftPC for Mac requires at least a 68020. This, I think was a wise decision, since you CAN'T make a reasonable 8088 emulator on a 68000 - it requires a bit more power. >As for Soft PC, does that run under A-max? It might run under A-Max but you would need a 68020+, e.g. an A3000. >I wondered if they had to do something special to read/write using >Mac-compatible drives, and whether this worked with A-max. The Macs that it runs on I believe come with the new Super-Drive which can quite easily work with MSDOS diskettes but would be incompatible with Amiga drives under A-Max. Hope this helps. -- Andrew Phillips (andrew@teslab.lab.oz.au) Phone +61 (Aust) 2 (Sydney) 289 8712