AMELMN02@ysub.ysu.edu (12/29/90)
I am getting my first MAC today, it is a 512k. I need to find a word-
processor that will 1) work on a 400k drive
2) fit into a 512k machine
I know that apple used to have MAC write with their machines when they were
new, but I am not getting that with this machine...
If I like this machine I might sell my 286 tower and get a classic...
Any help would be greatly appreciated.... Send it Email or post.
Thanks
Jim Chapman amelmn02@ysub.ysu.edudcc@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Daniel Carr) (01/02/91)
In article <90362.110314AMELMN02@ysub.ysu.edu> AMELMN02@ysub.ysu.edu writes: >I am getting my first MAC today, it is a 512k. I need to find a word- >processor that will 1) work on a 400k drive > 2) fit into a 512k machine >I know that apple used to have MAC write with their machines when they were >new, but I am not getting that with this machine... >If I like this machine I might sell my 286 tower and get a classic... >Any help would be greatly appreciated.... Send it Email or post. >Thanks >Jim Chapman amelmn02@ysub.ysu.edu i used to borrow a 512k mac (a.k.a Fat Mac, the 128k being skinny) from work, and i'll share what i know. the 512k mac has the old 64k ROMS, the 512ke has the 128k ROMS, like a plus. the one i used was a regular 512k mac. if you have a 512ke, most stuff that will run on a plus should run on that. if you have a regular 512k mac, then you'll run into a few problems. the 512k mac makes an excellent home machine for several reasons. first, it can be a great word processor. you might want to forget about macwrite, since microsoft word 3.01 works on it flawlessly. i beleive i used word and system 4.1 (system 4.2 will only work with 128k ROMS and higher). word takes a little learning, but is far superior to macwrite in many ways. the spell checker and thesaurus are a few of the outstanding features, but there are many more. the 512k mac also makes a great home terminal, since there are many good public domain terminal programs. red ryder 9.2 works nicely on it and is PD (shareware). also, there's kermit, and even VT100 emulators as desk accessories. most importantly the 512k mac is cost effective. they can be had for little to nothing. the best thing you can do with a 512k mac is get an init called "HD 20" and a external 800k drive (double-sided). put the hd 20 init on a 400k boot disk and then you will be able to recognize 800k disks in the external 800k drive. you double your disk space right there! also, if you can get one, you can hook the old HD 20 (non-scsi external 20 meg hard drive) to the external drive port. unfortunately, i don't think you can connect both an external 800k drive and the HD 20 at the same time. regarding your original request, word and the dictionary for the spell checker should fit on one 800k disk with room to spare, so you could have the system and finder on the 400k internal floppy. i've seen 3rd party 800k external drives for $99, but if you can't get one, then you could still use work by doing the not-so-glorious "disk shuffle", where the mac spits out one disk and asks you to put in another. also, i have an original mac write disk that came with my old mac that has macwrite and a system/finder on one disk and i don't want it... the 512k mac can run other software, but not a lot of the recent stuff. if you have any other questions, feel free to ask. i hope this helps, daniel Obligatory Request: I'm seeking hardware for the Lisa/MacXL. Have anything you'd like to sell or trade? I already know about retail places such as Sun Remarketing, Dafax, and the LisaShop. ----- Daniel Carr "I'm from North Carolina and I DON'T support Sen. Jesse Helms" --on a bumper daniel@cc.ncsu.edu dcc@ccvr1.ncsu.edu daniel@ncsuvm.BITNET
philip@pescadero.Stanford.EDU (Philip Machanick) (01/02/91)
In article <1991Jan1.222857.13624@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, dcc@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Daniel Carr) writes: |> the best thing you can do with a 512k mac is get an init called "HD 20" |> and a external 800k drive (double-sided). put the hd 20 init on a 400k boot |> disk and then you will be able to recognize 800k disks in the external |> 800k drive. you double your disk space right there! also, if you can |> get one, you can hook the old HD 20 (non-scsi external 20 meg hard |> drive) to the external drive port. unfortunately, i don't think you can |> connect both an external 800k drive and the HD 20 at the same time. [etc.] Minor correction: the old HD-20 had a diskette drive port on the back so you could do just this. I'm not sure how easy it is to find one of these drives - Sun remarketing sells them for more than an equivalent SCSI drive, and they really are slow by comparison. -- Philip Machanick philip@pescadero.stanford.edu
landman@hanami.Eng.Sun.COM (Howard A. Landman) (01/05/91)
In article <1991Jan1.222857.13624@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, dcc@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Daniel Carr) writes: >> if you can get one, you can hook the old HD 20 (non-scsi >> external 20 meg hard drive) to the external drive port. In article <1991Jan2.000731.13625@Neon.Stanford.EDU> philip@pescadero.stanford.edu writes: >I'm not sure how easy it is to find one of these drives - Sun >remarketing sells them for more than an equivalent SCSI drive, >and they really are slow by comparison. Just out of curiosity, how much are people willing to pay for an HD20? I have one on my Mac Plus, but since the addition of a SCSI drive I don't really need it anymore. It's still a *lot* faster than a floppy drive, and has been rock-solid reliable for the whole time I've had it. -- Howard A. Landman landman@eng.sun.com -or- sun!landman