Hi Tom !


 schreef Tom D'Ambrosio (1:106/7861) aan Erik Drost:

 ED>> i've read seen an article in a Dutch Apple MAC -magazine. I
 ED>> could type you an abstract, if youre interested.

 TD> Sure.
 TD> But if they tear it apart for not being 100% perfect, or for "being
 TD> a pale imitation of System 7, just stick with the Mac versions of
 TD> your software" (ie: they don't get it), then I may not.

Well, I'll give it a try (i hope it's okay with you, Mike (Corona), but in
fact it _is_ about Ataris, although it's an Apple MAC program)

About MagiCMac (taken from MacFan No.3 winter 95/96):

-MagiCMac is a real pre-emptive multitasking OS. More than one programs can
be loaded and used at one moment.
-MagiCMac is written for a 680x0 Macintosh, but it can also be used on a
PowerMac.
-At the moment, the program is entirely in German, even the keyboard-settings
(e.g. the Y and Z key are switched). There will be an English version soon.
MagiCMac contains a standard desktop-program callled 'Ease', which supports
the multitasking facilities of MagiCMac.
-MagiCMac supports not only Atari and Macintosh drive formats but also
CD-roms and SCSI-drives, formatted on an Atari. Sadly, MagiCMac cannot use
disks that are single-sided or disks that have an alternative number tracks
or sectors.
-MagiCMac supports all available Apple-screen resolutions in 2,16 or 256
colors. But there is also an option to use the normal 640x400 mono.
resolution. (necessary for older programs)
-As the Apple Mac doesn't have an parallel printer port, it is rather
difficult to connect an Atari-printer to it. An additional program and maybe
even a hardware interface is needed, which costs at least 300 guilders, that
is some 180 US$.
-As for the compatibility, MagiCMac is rather good. All well-written
ST-programs should run without errors, but during the tests the team did
often come by crashes. Most of the new programs are written much 'cleaner'
than the older ones, so there shouldn't be too much problems.
-MagiCMac's speed is very good. Even on a IIci (what's that ?) with a 25mHz
68030 it's four times (!!) faster than an ordinary 8mHz 68000 ST. On a
PowerMac the program must be ran in the relatively slow 680x0
emulation-module, so it won't be that fast as you might think on that system.

Well, that's about it. Now some prices and minimum config paramaters.:

MagiCMac 1.23 from Application Systems Heidelberg costs 349 guilders, that is
about 220 US$.

The minimum config parameters: An Apple Mac with a 68030 processor and 8MB
memory and System 7.0. On the PowerMac 16MB memory is needed.


Well, I hope you like the article, it's not that negative :-)

greetz !
Erik.

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