Lee Sailer <UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> (06/13/91)
A Mac has entered the community of machines that I support. (I'm
glad.) So I am appealing to the Mac community to give me a little
advice about the first set of sort-of-technical questions that
have popped up.
1. There will be text files that need to travel from the Mac world to
the msdos world.
a) for serial cable transfers (or parallel, I guess) what's a good
Mac <--> msdos file transfer program. We usually use Procomm or
Kermit now. Is there a Laplink like program?
b) same as a), execpt over telephone. Same software, or does advice
change?
2. What if the files that we get are not plain text? Is there msdos based
word processor software that will read the main Mac formats (macWrite?
Word? Other?)?
3. Where might we find a Mac capability to handle Cyrillic characters, which
we will be processing on a regular basis?
4. Is there an msdos floppy drive for the Mac, or a Mac floppy drive for
the PC? (I should probably just get an Amiga to put in the middle.)
5. If I only have one external CD-ROM drive, can I move it back and forth
from the Mac (SCSI, right?) and msdos (SCSI, to be same as Mac, I guess)
so that whoever needs it can use it for a few days? (Assuming software
is available for each, of course.)
6. In short, all that stuff you need to support the computer for the
rest of them 8-) 8-)
leegaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu (06/14/91)
In article <91164.092420UH2@psuvm.psu.edu>, Lee Sailer <UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> writes: >A Mac has entered the community of machines that I support. (I'm >glad.) So I am appealing to the Mac community to give me a little >advice about the first set of sort-of-technical questions that >have popped up. > >1. There will be text files that need to travel from the Mac world to > the msdos world. > a) for serial cable transfers (or parallel, I guess) what's a good > Mac <--> msdos file transfer program. We usually use Procomm or > Kermit now. Is there a Laplink like program? Laplink exists in a version for the Mac. Contact the publisher. > b) same as a), execpt over telephone. Same software, or does advice > change? Well, Laplink doesn't work over phone lines. <grin>. Zterm is probably the best shareware telecomm program for the Mac. On the commercial end, it's a battle between White Knight (used to be Red Ryder), VersaTerm, and MicroPhone II. MP II is probably the easiest to use of the bunch. All three are very powerful. But, if you're just doing quick-n-dirty file transfer, Use Zterm. >2. What if the files that we get are not plain text? Is there msdos based > word processor software that will read the main Mac formats (macWrite? > Word? Other?)? No. But Mac wordprocessors such as MS Word 4.0 and MacWrite II will write files in MS-DOS word processor formats. >4. Is there an msdos floppy drive for the Mac, or a Mac floppy drive for > the PC? (I should probably just get an Amiga to put in the middle.) <chuckle> Well, if the person has one of the following Macs, then they already have an MS-DOS capable floppy drive: IIx, IIcx, SE/30, IIci, IIfx, Classic, LC, IIsi, or SE with "FDHD" on the front. All these Macs have an FDHD (Floppy Drive High Density, aka "SuperDrive"). The SuperDrive can read-and-write: Mac (400K, 800k, 1.44MB), ProDOS (800k), and MS-DOS (800k, 1.44MB). You need additional software to use the ProDOS (Apple II format) or MS-DOS capabilities. Apple File Exchange, which is included one the Mac System Software disks, will allow rudimentary use of the ProDOS and MS-DOS functionality of the SuperDrive. You may wish to look into AccessPC or DOS Mounter, which let you use the SuperDrive more effectively. If your Mac doesn't have a SuperDrive, then you may wish to look into MS-DOS compatible drives offered by Dayna. They come in 3.5" and 5.25" formats - and are somewhat expensive. >5. If I only have one external CD-ROM drive, can I move it back and forth > from the Mac (SCSI, right?) and msdos (SCSI, to be same as Mac, I guess) > so that whoever needs it can use it for a few days? (Assuming software > is available for each, of course.) In theory, yes. Provided you have the appropriate drivers for both the Macintosh and MS-DOS environments, as well as the SCSI interface hardware on the MS-DOS side. Note that most CD-ROMs are usable only on one platform. Meaning your Mac CD-ROMs probably won't work on the MS-DOS PC, and vice versa. Good luck with integrating the Mac. The Macintosh is very good at co-existing within a PC environment - a survival trait, considering all the rabid "MS-DOS Only!" goons out there... :-) --- Jim Gaynor - AgVAX System Manager - Academic Computing - Ohio State University VMS:<gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu> UNIX:<gaynor@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> Disclaimer : All opinions expressed here are mine and only mine. So there! Witty Quote: "Shoot him now! Shoot him now!" - Daffy Duck, "Rabbit Seasonings"
dnebing@bgsuvax.UUCP (David Nebinger) (06/14/91)
In article <1991Jun13.182446.1089@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu>, gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu writes: > In article <91164.092420UH2@psuvm.psu.edu>, Lee Sailer <UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> writes: > >5. If I only have one external CD-ROM drive, can I move it back and forth > > from the Mac (SCSI, right?) and msdos (SCSI, to be same as Mac, I guess) > > so that whoever needs it can use it for a few days? (Assuming software > > is available for each, of course.) > > In theory, yes. Provided you have the appropriate drivers for both > the Macintosh and MS-DOS environments, as well as the SCSI interface > hardware on the MS-DOS side. Note that most CD-ROMs are usable only > on one platform. Meaning your Mac CD-ROMs probably won't work on the > MS-DOS PC, and vice versa. I thought that the High-Sierra format was supposed to make the cd's readable by both machines. I know that they couldn't use each other's applications, etc., but general the file structures could be read and understood by both machines. David Nebinger dnebing@andy.bgsu.edu "This is the sound of my brain on Don Henley..."
gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu (06/14/91)
In article <7579@bgsuvax.UUCP>, dnebing@bgsuvax.UUCP (David Nebinger) writes: > I thought that the High-Sierra format was supposed to make the cd's >readable by both machines. I know that they couldn't use each other's >applications, etc., but general the file structures could be read and >understood by both machines. True, but they have to -use- the High Sierra format to do this. Most CD-ROM publishers, in order to optimize the CD-ROM, produce them in the specific format of the intended platform. Not all, just most. --- Jim Gaynor - AgVAX System Manager - Academic Computing - Ohio State University VMS:<gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu> UNIX:<gaynor@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> Disclaimer : All opinions expressed here are mine and only mine. So there! Witty Quote: "Shoot him now! Shoot him now!" - Daffy Duck, "Rabbit Seasonings"
scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Stuart M Castergine) (06/18/91)
In article <91164.092420UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> Lee Sailer <UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> writes: >A Mac has entered the community of machines that I support. (I'm >glad.) So I am appealing to the Mac community to give me a little >advice about the first set of sort-of-technical questions that >have popped up. > >1. There will be text files that need to travel from the Mac world to > the msdos world. > a) for serial cable transfers (or parallel, I guess) what's a good > Mac <--> msdos file transfer program. We usually use Procomm or > Kermit now. Is there a Laplink like program? A plethora of choices. LapLink Mac exists. You can also use Kermit, Microphone or a variety of telcom apps for teh Mac, with a null modem cable. > > b) same as a), execpt over telephone. Same software, or does advice > change? Same telcom software. Same modems (in general). Mac-specific cable. > >2. What if the files that we get are not plain text? Is there msdos based > word processor software that will read the main Mac formats (macWrite? > Word? Other?)? Lots of choices. Woprd, which I use, writes RTF format, which many PC programs read. It also writes in Word PC format. Many other Mac WPs have similar capabilities. Also, ther are numerous standalone translator programs, such as MacLink. >3. Where might we find a Mac capability to handle Cyrillic characters, which > we will be processing on a regular basis? Don't know, offhand, but I'd bet money it exists. Keep looking. > >4. Is there an msdos floppy drive for the Mac, or a Mac floppy drive for > the PC? (I should probably just get an Amiga to put in the middle.) > Third party 5.25 and 3.5 inch PC drives exist for the Mac. Also, if you have a Mac with a 1.44 mb High density drive, it will read msdos disks using Apple File Exchange (included with the Apple system software) or Dayna's DOS Mounter or a similar product. >5. If I only have one external CD-ROM drive, can I move it back and forth > from the Mac (SCSI, right?) and msdos (SCSI, to be same as Mac, I guess) > so that whoever needs it can use it for a few days? (Assuming software > is available for each, of course.) > Questionable whether that will work. Why not network your machines. Macs and PCs can coexist peacfully on a variety of networks. For example, you could run Sitka/TOPS and have every machine on your network be able to access the cdrom, no matter whether it is on a Mac or PC. Farallon sells a localtalk card for the PC. OR you could put them all on ethernet, if you are serious. Some network products make it possible for your PCs to share your Apple LaserWriter (if you have one). If you think you don't need a network, think again. Once you have one, you won't know what you did without it. They are well worth the cost, which is less than yoiu might think. It used to be, people said "I don't need a hard drive." Now everybody knows they need a hard drive, but people still say "I don't need a network." :-) Now, so many machines (Sun, NeXT, Mac, etc.) are being bundled with built-in networking, that people are beginning to view it as a necessity. >6. In short, all that stuff you need to support the computer for the > rest of them 8-) 8-) > > lee Where's psu? Is that Penn State? I'm not _too_ far from there. Hmmm. Maybe I could do a little consulting! Dibs! Dibs! (fights off the net vultures as they close in) :-) :-) -- scasterg@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Stuart M Castergine "Step by step they were led to practices which disposed to vice -- the lounge, the bath, the elegant banquet. All this in their ignorance they called civilisation, when it was but part of their servitude."
hoepfner@heawk1.gsfc.nasa.gov (Patrick Hoepfner) (06/18/91)
UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer) writes: Since all the other questions were answered, I thought I would add my $.02... >3. Where might we find a Mac capability to handle Cyrillic characters, > which we will be processing on a regular basis? This isn't all that difficult. All you need is a Cyrillic font. Since all word processors will handle multiple fonts, all you have to do is to load this font (sorry I don't know where one is off hand but you might check sumex). Since I don't know anything about Cyrillic (or Russian) I don't know if it reads left-to-right or right-to-left. Not to worry. Nisus will even do the left-to-right that Hebrew requires. Try that on a PC! -- Pat ----------------------------------> hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov