MACEXCHANGER

                            By Phillip White

While perusing through the ACE BBS miscellaneous files, I came across a 
program which would seem to be the perfect addition for those ST users 
who use the Spectre 128 Macintosh emulator from Gadgets by Small.

The accompanying blurb stated quite emphatically that it was possible to 
format both Spectre and Mac disks and to transfer data between the two 
formats.  The MACEXCHANGER, while being of little use for those with the 
Spectre GCR, should be of immense value to the Spectre 128 user.

Although the Mac and the ST use the same size floppy disks, the formatting 
routines are markedly different for each machine.   The Macintosh uses a 
variable speed disk drive to ostensibly allow greater disk storage space, 
while the ST uses MS DOS based formatting routines.  This means that MAC 
disks cannot be read by the ST (or any other computer for that matter) 
without special hardware additions.

The Spectre 128 uses its own disk format that allows the reading and 
writing of Mac software to disks in an ST disk drive while in Macintosh 
mode.

The Spectre GCR uses a cartridge to enable Mac disks to be used directly by 
the ST, while there is another hardware utility called TRANSLATOR ONE 
which does pretty much the same thing. 

With MACEXCHANGER, you can transfer your Spectre diskettes to a special 
720KB Mac format which can be read or written by ANY Mac with a FDHD 
drive without  any trouble.  This is a high-density disk drive (also known 
as SuperDrive) which can read or write standard MS-DOS diskettes (using 
appropriate software), as well as the normal Mac (GCR) formats.

It is also possible to transfer a 720K Mac disk to Spectre, thus you have
virtually no need for special hardware to exchange disks with a Macintosh.

The program is written by Hubert Nooijen of the Netherlands and the 
version which is on the BBS is basically a demo with some features 
removed.

This program is distributed in a LIMITED version under a variant of the 
ShareWare system.  It means, you may try it out for a while and copy it to 
anybody you like; but if you want to USE the program (for some purpose), 
you have to pay for it (like any other ShareWare program).
By paying the ShareWare fee of Hfl. 50,- ($A?) for the FULL version of 
MACEXCHANGER, you will receive the full version of the program and - as a 
registered user - you will be notified of any product updates.
If the limited version of MACEXCHANGER is sufficient enough for you, you 
can also pay Hfl. 25,- (ShareWare fee for the LIMITED version). In that case, 
you will not receive the full version, but only becoming a registered user.

NOTES:
* The limited version of MACEXCHANGER can only convert Spectre to Mac,     
        not the other way around. Nor gives it the possibility to format a 720K 
        Mac disk (menu option F4), to be used on that computer (The Mac refuses 
        to  format a 720K - MFM - disk suitable for the ST...). (The Spectre GCR 
        will quite happily read a Macintosh formatted disk)
* The current version of MACEXCHANGER supports only double sided HFS disks.

* Because the Mac disk capacity is 80KB less than Spectre's, you can lose
        some information residing in the last 80K of a Spectre disk when 
        converting a 800K Spectre disk to 720K Mac.  The Mac 'sees' that 
        the disk contains invalid data and wants to repair it ("This disk 
        needs minor repairs").  Don't worry; all it does is rewrite a new 
        Desktop file. Also, MACEXCHANGER warns you about the disk's size 
        (with the option to resume or cancel).
        To prevent such problems, included is an option to format a 720KB 
        Spectre disk (menu option F2). It is in all respects a normal 
        Spectre disk, except that you can store 80KB less on it...

The Demo program is simple to use and appears to work flawlessly within 
the restraints imposed on it.  This is a bare bones application that is 
accessed through keystrokes, there are no GEM attributes.

To test it, I formatted a Spectre disk using MACEXCHANGER and read it 
from the Mac mode in Spectre GCR.  I then wrote a file to this disk and 
formatted a Mac disk.
 
Using the  transfer Spectre to Mac function in MACEXCHANGER, I then 
transferred the contents of the Spectre disk to the Mac one.
The Mac disk was then successfully read by using Spectre GCR with the 
original file intact. This disk had been resized to 720K, and while it was 
read by Spectre, I cannot verify the results on a real Macintosh.

In conclusion, I can say that this program should certainly be on the 
shopping list for those ST users who either have or are considering 
purchasing a Spectre 128 and do not wish to go the whole hog with a 
Spectre GCR.

The only problem, is trying to get it in Australia. In the meantime please 
contact.....        Hubert Nooijen
                    Diamantpad 18
                    2628 SC  Delft
                    The Netherlands

                    PostGiro Account nr. 1884895
                    (PostBank)