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From: grunau_b@husc4.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: mac sac - magic sac - mac bongo
Message-ID: <1101@husc6.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Jan-87 22:59:17 EST
Article-I.D.: husc6.1101
Posted: Mon Jan 26 22:59:17 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Jan-87 18:46:40 EST
References: <8701270057.AA00189@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Sender: news@husc6.UUCP
Reply-To: grunau_b@husc4.UUCP (Justin J. M. Grunau)
Organization: Harvard Science Center
Lines: 75

In article <8701270057.AA00189@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> PV9Y%CORNELLA.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu writes:
>Received: by CORNELLA (Mailer X1.23b) id 9751; Mon, 26 Jan 87 09:21:35 EST
>Date: 26 January 87 09:21 EST
>From: PV9Y@CORNELLA
>Subject: mac sac - magic sac - mac bongo
>To: INFO-ATARI16@SCORE.STANFORD.EDU
>
>I'm getting tired of hearing everyone talking about their various Mac
>emulators without telling those of us who don't have access to one what
>they can do.  I've also heard about three different people talk about
>what seems like three different emulators.  Are all of the software
>emulators really the same thing, or are they different programs
>entirely?  What percent of Mac software do they actually run?  Could
>someone post a list of software that they personally KNOW to run?  Also,
>where are we supposed to get an image file of 64K Mac ROMS?  I don't
>have the equipment or expertise to download them from some actual ROMS,
>and I am not sure as to where I could even get those.  Do all the
>software emulators require that you transfer the software via modem, as
>does David Small's Magic Sac?  And the most important question . . . are
>any of these emulators good enough so that I should go out and buy a
>monochrome monitor?  Thanks go to the person that can answer these
>questions.
>                            Adam Engst
>
>pv9y@cornella
>engst%tcgould.tn.cornell.edu@crnlcs.bitnet  (<- send mail here, please)

Well, I am not going to post the entire "runs/doesn't run" list just yet,
though I suppose I could be talked into uploading the README files one gets
with the Magic Sac.

I CAN say (happily) that each revision of the software (and the most appealing
thing about David Small's product is that there have been 4 new software
releases since the summer, and they are entirely free for all owners of the
sac) HAS increased the quantity of software that does run.  The most recent
revision (3.5, or 4.0 beta) fixed a bug that had stopped the Notepad and the
DA part of Font/DA mover from working, for instance.

As far as the monochrome monitor question is concerned, Rev. 3.5 of the Magic
Sac *HAS COLOR SUPPORT*!!!  He gives you alternatives of a full-resolution
scrolling screen, which can show you only the top two-thirds of the screen at
any one time, or a scrunched mode where some resolution is lost but you can
see the whole screen at once.

BTW, you don't need a modem to transfer software -- if you can get a mac and
your ST into the same room, the Magic Sac comes with a null-modem cable that
allows you to hook directly to the Mac for transfers.  It is true, however, 
MacIntosh diskettes cannot be read by ST drives, since the Mac drives are so
non-standard and run at variable speeds.  The Magic Sac diskettes are formatted
in the same way MacIntosh diskettes are, with 400K per side (and are therefore
unreadable by TOS or MS-DOS, also), and so constitute a kind of halfway limbo.

Oh, it does run MacWrite (which is quite a feat!), MacDraw, MacPaint, REdit,
Missile Command, Write Now, some RAMdisks .. I am logged onto the VAX right now
on MacIntosh software, emulating a VT102 quite nicely, in a scrolling window
that gives me full access to the mouse, menu bar, etc (it is a deficiency of
GEM that to go into scrolling mode you have to give up the menu bar, etc.).  Oh,
it also runs various desk accessories, including SkipFinder.  It also runs
Switcher, version 5.0, I think (not earlier versions).

One last thing:  there is no legal way to get the ROM images without buying
the ROMs and putting them in a ROM cartridge -- I don't see what the big deal
is about this, though -- it is marvelously convenient to have a ROM cartridge
port, and the Magic Sac gives you a clock/calendar with battery backup, too
(tho it gains time a little).  If you are worried about finding a Sac with
ROMs, call ST Plus in Berkeley at 1-800-433-6222, and I'm sure they'll be happy
to pack a couple of ROMs in with the Sac for you.  They also sell all ST
hardware at 20% off:  I got my 1040 + mono monitor + 20M HD for $1424 (no tax);
the Magic Sac + ROMs is $170, there.

			Hope this is useful;

									JJMG

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