Oberon/F requires a floating-point unit (FPU) to work correctly. If you try to run Oberon/F on a Macintosh without this piece of hardware, it will immediately terminate with an error message.
If your machine has no FPU, you may either choose to upgrade the machine with an FPU if this is possible (contact your Apple dealer), or you may install a software emulator of an FPU. We have successfully used Oberon/F with the product SoftFPU on various Macintoshes without hardware FPUs. SoftFPU is described further below by its creator.
Notice:
SoftFPU is not a product of Oberon microsystems; and Oberon microsystems does not endorse SoftFPU in the sense that Oberon microsystems would take responsibility for any problems you may encounter with SoftFPU.
SoftwareFPU 3.0 has just been released and is now available to the general electronic public. The shareware version is currently available via anonymous ftp at ftp.netcom.com (/pub/jo/johnneil), and is or will soon be available at info-mac (Configuration), America Online (keyword: MUT), CompuServe (GO MACSYS) and eWorld (shortcut SHAREWARE).SoftwareFPU is a shareware Macintosh utility which allows applications requiring a Floating Point Unit (FPU) to work on computers without one, such as the IIsi, IIvi, LC series, Classic II & Color Classic series, Performa series, Power Macintosh, and some models of PowerBook, PowerBook Duo, and Quadra series. Drop this control panel onto your System folder and FPU applications that formerly crashed will begin working. SoftwareFPU requires a 68020, 68030, 68LC040, or PowerPC processor. Version 3.0 allows the user to enable and disable SoftwareFPU without restarting, adds balloon help, and fixes a bug that prevented Systat from working.If you use SoftwareFPU, please send $10 to John Neil & Associates, P.O. Box 2156, Cupertino, CA 95015. To receive a "fat" 68K/PowerPC version, please send $20. Registered users receive a free upgrade that allows the startup "thank you" balloon to be hidden. Registration information and a registration form are available by clicking the "Plea" button in the SoftwareFPU control panel.The shareware version will work on Power Macintosh computers but is not PowerPC-native. A PowerPC-native version can be obtained by registering with John Neil & Associates. Current registered users can upgrade to the PowerPC-native version for $10.
