[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] How good is Hydra One

ayee@coyote.datalog.com (allen yee) (05/15/91)

I heard there is a Mac emulator for the PC.  It is called Hydra One.
How good is it?  Can anyone give me opinion on this emulator?  Thanks
in Advance.
Allen Yee

phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (05/15/91)

ayee@coyote.datalog.com (allen yee) writes:

>I heard there is a Mac emulator for the PC.  It is called Hydra One.
>How good is it?  Can anyone give me opinion on this emulator?  Thanks

It works. I was at a demo. You have to come up with ROMs somehow,
the vendor does not sell them.

We decided not to buy it because it only offers "tiny mac" resolution,
even on a EGA or VGA screen which could support higher resolutions.

--
"1935 will go down in history!  For the first time, a civilized nation has
full gun registration!  Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient
and the world will follow our lead into the future!"
	- Adolf Hitler

johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu (05/16/91)

In article <1991May15.162240.25991@amd.com>, phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) writes...
>ayee@coyote.datalog.com (allen yee) writes:
> 
>>I heard there is a Mac emulator for the PC.  It is called Hydra One.
>>How good is it?  Can anyone give me opinion on this emulator?  Thanks
> 
>It works. I was at a demo. You have to come up with ROMs somehow,
>the vendor does not sell them.
>We decided not to buy it because it only offers "tiny mac" resolution,
>even on a EGA or VGA screen which could support higher resolutions.

It also offers only 1986-era ROM compatibility (ie: Mac Plus) according 
to a "Clones" review in MacWorld.  The asking price (without ROM) is 
about the same as the price of a new MacClassic with current ROMs, 
so it is unclear what the real benefit of this machine will be.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the board takes over your PC
entirely;  you don't get to run the Mac as a session under Windows,
for example.  The same problem with PC boards for slotted Macs:
the boards cost more than comparable clones, and don't run under
Multifinder.  Unless you are seriously short on desk space, I think
its smarter to buy the Mac or the PC.  It's not that difficult to
keep two computers busy, and you get more of the benefits of both.

If you can give up some speed, I have found that SoftPC from Insignia
emulates an XT or an AT acceptably for most purposes.  There is even 
a version now for the Mac Classic, so for $700 and the cost of SoftPC,
you can run your DOS stuff on the Mac. It even runs Windows under 
Multifinder, if you are willing to wait an eternity for an emulation
on top of an emulation ...

Bill (johnston@minnie.me.udel.edu)