mikeu@pro-magic.cts.com (Mike Ungerman) (11/21/90)
...or should I say, Comdex and NO Apple ][. Apple, Inc was there, but it was all Macintosh. 99% was PC or mainframe and related software (which was quite awsome in terms of the technology that will be coming our way.) One company is marketing the Trackstar and Trackstar Plus to run 8 bit applications on IBM and compatibles. I purchased a Plus and have run it for two days on my 386sx. It runs DOS 3.3 and ProDos programs flawlessly (well...almost, as the text is in IBM graphics mode and a bit rough around the edges), lo-res, hi-res and double hi-res graphics supported nicely. Hard drives supported and an Apple ][ floppy plugs into the board. Data can be transfered between the IBM and Apple applications-nice! So, if you just have to run an IBM or clone, but don't want to let go of your Apple ][e/c/+, the Trackstar seems the way to go. Should be a nice niche market for it for parents needing to run both software in their homes to satisfy the educational craving of their kids running Apple ]['s at school. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mike Ungerman |Proline:mikeu@pro-magic Pro-Magic BBS: 407-366-0156 |uucp:crash!pnet01!pro-magic!mikeu 300/1200/2400/9600 Baud 24hrs |arpa:crash!pnet01!pro-magic!mikeu@nosc.mil Apple Tree of Central Florida, Inc |Internet:mikeu@pro-magic.cts.com Orlando, Florida|Voice:407-366-0060|Compuserve:71326,31 Prodigy: JSNP58A
MQUINN%UTCVM@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU (11/24/90)
On Wed, 21 Nov 90 15:16:42 GMT Mike Ungerman said: > >So, if you just have to run an IBM or clone, but don't want to let go of your >Apple ][e/c/+, the Trackstar seems the way to go. Should be a nice niche >market for it for parents needing to run both software in their homes to >satisfy the educational craving of their kids running Apple ]['s at school. Before doing this, I would recommend the PC Transporter from AE that let's you run IBM stuff inside your Apple ][. It's got 640k (in ibm mode), 7.6Mhz 8086, CGA graphics and uses all your existing Apple // peripherals as if they were pluged into an ibm...(modem, printer, & drives) It has a port for ibm drives. If this isn't enough for you, THEN I'd get the Trackstar board for the ibm. >______________________________________________________________________________ >Mike Ungerman |Proline:mikeu@pro-magic >Pro-Magic BBS: 407-366-0156 |uucp:crash!pnet01!pro-magic!mikeu >300/1200/2400/9600 Baud 24hrs |arpa:crash!pnet01!pro-magic!mikeu@nosc.mil >Apple Tree of Central Florida, Inc |Internet:mikeu@pro-magic.cts.com >Orlando, Florida|Voice:407-366-0060|Compuserve:71326,31 Prodigy: JSNP58A ---------------------------------------- Michael J. Quinn University of Tennessee at Chattanooga BITNET-- mquinn@utcvm pro-line-- mquinn@pro-gsplus.cts.com
philip@utstat.uucp (Philip McDunnough) (11/24/90)
In article <9011232055.AA10846@apple.com> MQUINN%UTCVM@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU writes: >On Wed, 21 Nov 90 15:16:42 GMT Mike Ungerman said: >> >>So, if you just have to run an IBM or clone, but don't want to let go of your >>Apple ][e/c/+, the Trackstar seems the way to go. Should be a nice niche >>market for it for parents needing to run both software in their homes to >>satisfy the educational craving of their kids running Apple ]['s at school. >Before doing this, I would recommend the PC Transporter from AE that let's >you run IBM stuff inside your Apple ][. It's got 640k (in ibm mode), >7.6Mhz 8086, CGA graphics and uses all your existing Apple // peripherals >as if they were pluged into an ibm...(modem, printer, & drives) Prices for PC clones have dropped to the point where getting a PC Transporter is a questionable move. CGA is totally unacceptable now. And the 8086, while a nice processor compared to the 8088, is just history. It makes more sense to get a VGA 386sx system with the TrackStar Plus than it does to get a PC Transporter or even a MacLC with the IIc card. With the PC you end up with an expandable computer(i.e. slots), with excellent graphics, good software,etc...In addition you get to keep your II software. Now, had Apple improved the GS so that a VGA Transporter had been feasible that would have been a different story. But they didn't and the rest is history. Philip McDunnough University of Toronto-> philip@utstat.toronto.edu [my opinions]
NOWAKO09@SNYBUFVA.BITNET (APPLE //GS - THE POWER TO BE YOUR BEST) (11/29/90)
Is AE going to come out with a ps2 card for the gs? I will most likely invest
in a PCTransporter but its kinda skimpy on the graphics; CGA is almost bottom
of the barrel (Herucles is considered the least) and when I perused the
IBM section (i.e. most of the store) at Electronic Boutique I noticed that many
of the programs no longer support CGA and REQUIRE VGA and up.
Is it really worth 300$ for a PC Trans if the XT may be
extinct soon? How is the XT doing? I hesitate because I would feel awfully
stupid if I bought an emulator card for an obsolete machine when what I want
is to extend the life of my GS investment.
- Nuff Ramblin
- Joe Nowakowski