Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mcnc!rti!sas!cole
From: cole@sas.UUCP (Tom Cole)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: PC software on a MAC
Summary: quick summary of softpc
Keywords: softpc
Message-ID: <978@sas.UUCP>
Date: 23 Mar 89 02:59:02 GMT
References: <524@bridge2.3Com.Com>
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.,Cary NC,25712
Lines: 52


Someone asks some questions about SoftPC, to which I reply:

1.	SoftPC will only run on an SE if you have an accellerator installed.
	I don't know what accellerators it will work with, but it runs fine
	on my SE with a Radius 16 accellerator.  It will *not* run on a stock
	SE or Plus as it makes use of 68020 instructions.

2.	It also runs fine on a Mac II with no additional hardware.

3.	It runs about as fast as your basic IBM PC/XT.  Which is to say it is
	tolerable for many things, but pretty slow for big crunching programs.

4.	Asks about CAD-type graphics.  SoftPC (currently) only supports CGA
	graphics, which don't measure up for much beyond games, IMHO.  So
	don't get too hepped up on graphics just yet.

5.	If you are planning to run PC programs, you gotta solve one basic
	problem:  how do you get the programs into your Mac?  The choices
	are  a) by a Dayna or Apple IBM drive, which SoftPC will recognize
	and use as the A: drive, b) hook a serial line to your neighborhood
	PC and use a trick called SlavePC that comes with the SoftPC package
	that lets you use the PC's A drive as if it where on your Mac, but
	not too swiftly, or c) download using Kermit-like things in a text-
	format file, and move them into the SoftPC domain using its ability
	to make a Mac folder be the E: drive.

6.	It is a *very* compatible implementation of a PC.  I can run SAS for
	the PC (about 14mb of stuff) and it runs flawlessly, though slowly.
	I run it on a 5mb Mac II and make a 1mb ram cache to my disk, which
	helps a lot.

7.	You gotta have memory.  An accellerated SE with 2.5mb is a minimum,
	and a 5mb system will make it run at about optimal speed.  This
	appears to be because enourmous tables (state machine?) are loaded
	into memory to drive the 8086 emulator, and they eat space.

Conclusion:  I already had the hardware, and needed access to a PC to be able
	     to run SAS, so the ~600 dollar investment was cheaper than going
	     out and bying a PC/XT clone with a hard disk.  If you don't have
	     the hardware yet (not enough memory or accellerator) then it can
	     be a pretty expensive way to get access to PC technology.  For
	     what I needed, it was a perfect solution.  I like it.


Tom Cole
SAS Institute

I have no connection with SoftPC except as a satisfied customer.  I have no
connection that I would ever admit to the PC version of SAS.  My employer
doesn't even suspect I have opinions, and would probably be unimpressed even
if they heard them...