Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!gatech!prism!mailer.cc.fsu.edu!nu!boyd From: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st.tech Subject: Re: Spectre Questions Message-ID: <1991May3.141023.18062@mailer.cc.fsu.edu> Date: 3 May 91 18:36:17 GMT References: Reply-To: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd) Organization: Florida State University Computer Science Department Lines: 56 In article , marco@sys6626.bison.mb.ca (Marco) writes: >I have been considering buying Spectre, but I have a few questions. >First, what's the difference between GCR and 128? The 128 gives you a Mac, but with a non-standard floppy drive. You will have to transfer all of your Mac software via modem or direct-connect. This is because the Mac's use a strange floppy protocol that cannot be emulated on the ST without additional hardware. The GCR (stands for Group Coded Record, which is the name for the strange floppy protocol) provided the additional hardware noted above. Thus, your ST floppy drive(s) will be Mac compatible. Therefore, the GCR is a more complete emulator than the 128 (only in terms of the floppy, they are equal in ability to run Mac stuff). Also, any protected software would require a GCR to work (games). >What are "Mac Roms" and why would you want them? A small explination of the Spectre is in order. The Spectre is a software program that takes an ST and a copy of the Mac OS and yields a Mac compatible. Now, for Mr. Small to be able to do this, a copy of the Mac OS is needed. That is what is contain on the Mac ROMs. The Spectre is sold as with a cartridge that accepts the Mac ROMS and plugs into your ST. This is the only legal (in terms of Apple) way of providing the Mac OS. Dave Small cannot sell Mac ROMS. In other words, you need the Mac ROMs to get around legal, not physical or practical rules. There have been pirate copies of the Spectre (128) that provide the Mac OS as a file on the disk (with no hardware needed). >Is Spectre 100% Mac compatible? It is about 99.999%. Most Mac's are not 100% Mac compatible :-) . Dave Small upgrades his stuff constantly, and updates are free. Mac ROMs are getting hard to find, as Apple has changed it's policy on selling them (apparently they were getting worried about Mac clones or something). I would secure a set of 128k Mac ROMS first, before buying either of the Spectres. I would recommend you get a GCR, since Mac software will be usable right out of the box. If you run into any of the pirated software-only versions of the Spectre 128, please do not use them. Dave Small has done some incredible things for the ST, and is currently working on some REALLY promising stuff. It would be a shame to see him go (as have so many other great ST programmers, like Tom Hudson). Either Spectre is cheap for what you are getting. Also, these pirated versions are heavily hacked (Mr. Small's code to check if the OS is in ROM has been removed from many places) and totally unreliable. -- ---------------------------------+------------------------------------- Mickey R. Boyd | "Kirk to Enterprise. All clear FSU Computer Science | down here. Beam down Technical Support Group | yeoman Rand and a six-pack . ." email: boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu | ---------------------------------+-------------------------------------