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Path: IRO.UMontreal.CA!clyde.concordia.ca!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!infonode!tappek From: tappek@infonode.ingr.com (J. Kurt Tappe) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.emulations Subject: Frequently Asked A-Max Questions (please read) Summary: Monthly posting (many changes since May) Keywords: A-Max, FAAQL Message-ID: <1991Sep10.132538.5834@infonode.ingr.com> Date: 10 Sep 91 13:25:38 GMT Distribution: comp Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL Lines: 1306 (Please read, even if you have seen this before!) This is the monthly posting of the Frequently Asked A-Max Questions List (FAAQL). Sorry for the delay since Sept. 1; a combination of vacation and tech difficulties (yeah, yeah, same old story... ;-) *Please Note* I've been receiving calls from people all over the country who have read this file on various BBS' and even have been givem 10th-hand hard copy. This is great; I've no problem with people distributing this list. HOWEVER, as recently as yesterday I am still getting calls from folks who are reading the MAY version of the FAAQL; it seems that more recent versions are not getting distributed. PLEASE: if you are one of the kind folks who re- distributed the first version, could you also redistribute this one? There have been a LOT of changes, corrections, and additions. Thanks! Kurt - - Cut here - - Frequently Asked A-Max Questions List ------------------------------------- Version 09/7/91 Copyright 1991, Kurt Tappe The text contained herein may not be published in any form without prior written consent of the author. This file _may_ be distributed, posted, and uploaded to national on-line information services and bulletin board systems only in its unaltered entirety and only for non-commercial use. The author is in no way affiliated with ReadySoft Inc. and the contents of this file have not been authorized by ReadySoft. This file is intended to answer all common (and some not-so- common) questions about A-Max, the Macintosh Emulator package by ReadySoft for the Amiga. If your question is not answered herein, or if you find an error or omission, please contact Kurt Tappe via whichever of these methods you prefer: USPS: 184 W. Valley Hill Rd. Malvern, PA 19355-2214 E-Mail: tappek@infonode.ingr.com (preferred) OR jkt100@psuvm.psu.edu (expires 8/15/91) or "KurtTappe" on Quantum Link Phone: (215) 458-5000 (work) or (215) 363-9485 (home) Many thanks to those who have contacted me with corrections and additions since the last incarnation of this file. Your contributions have made this file much more accurate and youUve helped ease the confusion of hundreds of A-Max users. First, a bit about me, my qualifications, and why I created this file: I'm a technical writer who is an avid user of both my Amiga 2000HD at home and a Mac IIci at work. As a result, I'm in a position where I know both the Amiga and the Mac well, and I use A-Max on a daily-basis. After reading many different discussion areas on various networks, I kept seeing the same questions about A-Max popping up repeatedly. It took me years to learn what I know about the Mac and Amiga and how best to bridge the Commodore-Apple gap, and I would like to help ease the learning process for others. I hope this file helps clear the fog. :-) Kurt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contents ======== (* = new, changed, or fixed from 5/2/91) (** = new since 8/1/91) Overview of A-Max Theory (or How The Heck Did They Get Mac Software To Run On Amiga?) * How Compatible Is A-Max? What Will Run On It? What Is Needed In Addition To The Basic A-Max Package? What Else Can I Add To A-Max? * What Are The Differences Between The Macintosh ROM versions? Is ReadySoft Planning A Version Of A-Max To Use The Newer ROMs? Will A-Max MultiTask With The Amiga? What Macintosh System Versions Work With A-Max? * Will System 7.0 Work With A-Max? * How Can I Save PRAM Settings? Is There A Way To Automatically Accelerate the Mouse? How Do I Reduce Title Bar Flicker? What's This I Hear About Apple Cutting Off The Supply Of ROMs? Are There Alternatives To Using Apple ROMs? Are There Legal Alternatives To Using Apple ROMs? * Is There A Way To Make The ROMs Load Faster? Can A-Max Read Macintosh Disks? What Is An A-Max Format Disk? Why Can't A-Max Read Macintosh Disks In Amiga Drives? * Do I Really Need To Buy A Macintosh Disk Drive? * What is "SYBIL"? What Methods Can I Use To Transfer Files To And From A-Max? * Can A-Max Read High Density Macintosh Floppies? * Where Can I Find The DB-19 And DB-23 Connectors To Make Make My Own Mac Drive Interface? * What is A-Max II+? Can I Use A Hard Drive With A-Max? * What Hard Drive Controllers Are Supported By A-Max? **What If My Hard Drive Controller Is Not Supported? * Is There A Way To Get Rid Of The A-Max Partition Icon? Can A Macintosh External Hard Drive Be Connected To The Amiga And Used With A-Max? * Can A Macintosh CD-ROM Drive Be Used With A-Max? * Can I Use A Modem With A-Max? Should I Buy A-Max Or An Actual Macintosh? What Are The Cost/Benefit Comparisons For A-Max vs. An Actual Mac? How Much Of The Amiga's Memory Can Be Used By A-Max? How Does A-Max Use The Second Amiga Mouse Button? How Do You Run A-Max As An Option From The Startup Sequence? What Video Modes Can A-Max Use? Is A Special Monitor Needed? **How Do You Change The Default Colors? * What Printing Options Are Available From A-Max? * JetLink Express or MacPrint? What Do All These Accessories for A-Max Cost? How Fast Is A-Max Compared To An Actual Macintosh? Can A-Max Be Accelerated? What Accelerators Are Compatible with A-Max? * Will use of a 68040 accelerator cause any problems with A-Max II? What Are The Differences Between The Original A-Max and A-Max II? Why You Should Get A-Max II If You Own The Original A-Max What Problems Were Corrected With Version 2.06 Of A-Max II? How Do You Tell What Version Of A-Max You Have? * Where Can I Obtain Public Domain Mac Software? **What Are ".hqx," ".sit," and ".cpt" Files and How Can I Decode Them? About ReadySoft - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Overview of A-Max ----------------- A-Max II (referred to as just "A-Max" for short throughout this doc) is a combination hardware/software package from ReadySoft that allows your model 1000, 500, 2000 series, or 3000 series Amiga to run Macintosh software. While A-Max is operating, your Amiga is, for all intents and purposes, a Macintosh. The package consists of a cartridge that plugs into your Amiga's external floppy drive port and two floppy disks which contain the A-Max software. Theory (or How The Heck Did They Get Mac Software To Run On Amiga?) ------------------------------------------------------------------- While A-Max is called an "emulation," there are those who justifiably refer to it as (in the words of Commodore engineer Dave Haynie) "a hostile port of the Macintosh operating system." To understand what this means, a brief description of the Macintosh OS is needed. When Apple designed the Macintosh, its designers did their utmost to keep the entire basic operating system of the computer (all the built-in functions for drawing windows, moving the pointer, activating menus, drawing graphics, etc.) down to a small size and on a single set of chips. The advantages of this design are manyfold, the most notable of which are reduced cost and ease of mass-production. So a Macintosh, at its most fundamental, is merely a set of two ROM chips containing basic machine language routines that can be called by programs. The fact that the entire Mac operating system is contained on just two chips is the key to A-Max. A-Max uses actual Macintosh ROMs in its emulation. When you run A-Max, it copies the ROMs into a section of the Amiga's RAM and then selectively modifies the ROM code. The modification makes the ROM routines interact with the Amiga hardware instead of that found on a Macintosh; graphic calls, input/output, disk routines, and memory management are some of the key routines that are modified to be Amiga- compatible. When A-Max completes the modifications, it then turns control of the system over to the Mac ROM code, and voila! You now have a Macintosh operating system running on an Amiga, and thinking it is a Mac. This method differs from an emulation in that an emulation is independently developed code that tries to act like another piece of code. A-Max is the actual Macintosh code, modified (ported) to the Amiga. This fact explains A-Max's remarkably high degree of Macintosh compatibility. How Compatible Is A-Max? What Will Run On It? ---------------------------------------------- The list of major applications that run on A-Max II is very extensive, and is too long to be listed here. A-Max is well over 90% compatible, and a better question to ask than "What will A-Max run?" is "What WON'T it run?" However, a brief sampling includes: Microsoft Word 3.02 and 4.0, Quark XPress 2.12 and 3.0, PageMaker 2, 3, and 4.0, MacWrite 4.5, 5, and IIv2, MacDraw II, MacPaint, Adobe Illustrator 88, FullPaint, SuperPaint, Canvas, Freehand, and utilities such as Font/DA Mover, Disinfectant, On Cue, Adobe Type Manager 2.0, After Dark, ResEdit 2.1, DiskTools II, StuffIt, MacTools, and Norton Utilities (all parts of NU work beautifully; Speed Disk, File Recovery, Fast Find, KeyFinder). Unless a piece of software performs direct hardware calls, it will run on A-Max just as well as on a Mac Plus. Of course, be aware that a FEW programs don't run on A-Max, but they're nearly all games. The ONE major application that I have found to be incompatible is Adobe Illustrator 3. Two major games that do not run are SimCity and Dark Castle (SimCity loads and runs, but will not advance the clock, so you build all you want, but the year is always 1900.) Many games DO work, and I play Tetris, Risk, and Strategic Conquest all the time. To demonstrate the extent of the compatibility, A-Max format disks can even be sector-edited as if they were Macintosh disks! For more information about compatibility with A-Max, you can watch for the regular (monthly?) postings to comp.sys.amiga.emulations by Rich Andrews. Rich maintains two lists ("games" and "non-games") of Macintosh programs and their compatibility with A-Max. What Is Needed In Addition To The Basic A-Max Package? ------------------------------------------------------ In addition to A-Max, you will need a set of 128K Macintosh ROM chips. This is the only other REQUIRED hardware item. However, to make your life much easier you will want some other items (listed below.) Software-wise, you will need a set of the Macintosh System Software (version must be 4.2 thru 6.0.5--see below). What Else Can I Add To A-Max? ----------------------------- A plethora of hardware and software can be added to A-Max as accessories to make using A-Max easier. These include: An external Macintosh (or compatible) floppy drive to read Macintosh disks. (strongly recommended) A polarized display filter to reduce flicker. An Amiga display enhancer, such as Commodore's A2320 or MicroWay's flickerFixer, that will eliminate flicker from interlaced display modes. A display adapter must be accompanied by a VGA or multi-synch monitor that will accept the adaptor's output. Amiga RAM expansion and/or an Amiga accelerator card. Macintosh public domain software to accelerate the mouse, save Parameter RAM settings, alter the window title bars, etc. What Are The Differences Between The Macintosh ROM versions? Is ReadySoft Planning A Version Of A-Max To Use The Newer ROMs? --------------------------------------------------------------- A bit of Macintosh ROM history: The original Mac ROMs were 64K in size, and were used on the Apple LISA/Mac XL, Macintosh 128, and Mac 512. The next generation were 128K in size and were used on the Mac 512E and Mac Plus. The latest generations are 256K and 512K and are used on the Mac Se, Macintosh Classic, Portable, SE/30, and II series. The major upgrades between the versions were: 128K - Allowed use of double sided (800K) floppy disks and added the Hierarchical File System (HFS). 256K - Allowed use of high density (1.4 Meg) floppy disks, and added color. 512K - Same as 256K, but also has a tiny version of System and Finder built-in so you can boot from ROM in an emergency. The original A-Max allowed the use of either the 64K or the 128K Mac ROMs. A-Max II requires the 128K ROMs. There is a rumor circulating that ReadySoft is working on an "A-Max III" that will use the 256K ROMs to possibly allow emulation of a Mac II. Of course, at this point this is mere speculation. A pertinent question to ask about such a rumor is where potential A-Max III customers would get hold of 256K ROM chips, as Apple has controlled their distribution strictly since they were available. Will A-Max MultiTask With The Amiga? ------------------------------------ The Macintosh is a non-multitasking computer; the operating system was not designed to allow for portions of memory to be allocated to various tasks and to be off-limits. In addition, the Mac OS was not designed to wait for other tasks to finish using shared portions of the computer, such as the screen, I/O devices, storage devices, etc. Thus, A-Max cannot multitask with the rest of the Amiga. Such a feat could not be accomplished without major modifications to the Mac ROM code, which would probably cause many software packages not to run under A-Max. So, in short, no, A-Max cannot multitask with AmigaDOS. For those technically curious: One programmer posted to the network some time ago saying that he was attempting to write his own Macintosh emulator; what he termed "A public domain A-Max." The main difference between his program and A-Max was that he tried to make his emulator multitask with the Amiga system. His strategy was to require his product be used on an Amiga with a lot of memory, and then locate the entire emulator in a 4 megabyte section of upper Amiga RAM. The RAM containing his emulator would be contiguous and not accessible to the rest of the system, thereby theoretically overcoming some of the restrictions for A-Max not multitasking with the Amiga OS. Apparently his attempt failed in trying to get his emulator to share common system resources, such as the screen, I/O, etc. What Macintosh System Versions Work With A-Max? ----------------------------------------------- A-Max has been tested with and runs system versions 4.2 through 6.0.5. System 6.0.7 does not totally work with A-Max; users of 6.0.7 have reported various problems ranging from random system crashes to increased software incompatibility. Will System 7.0 Work With A-Max? -------------------------------- The phrase that best describes the compatibility between 7.0 and A-Max is "Three strikes and you're out." System 7.0 failed in three attempts to run it on A-Max: 1) The 7.0 installation disks would not boot. 2) After booting with another disk, the 7.0 installation program crashed. 3) A-Max would not boot from an external hard drive on which System 7.0 had been installed and from which 7.0 did work on a real Macintosh. Many users have confirmed that 7.0 is, at this time, totally incompatible with A-Max. The reason for 7.0's incompatibility is unknown, though it is conceivable that Apple made 7.0 intentionally this way to discourage use of Macintosh emulators. ReadySoft is rumored to be working on another version of A-Max that will be 7.0 compatible. How Can I Save PRAM Settings? Is There A Way To Automatically Accelerate the Mouse? How Do I Reduce Title Bar Flicker? ------------------------------------------------ The Macintosh has a few bytes of battery backed RAM called "Parameter RAM" (PRAM) which holds information about system settings set in the Control Panel such as the time and date, mouse speed, cursor blink rate, menu blinking, and more. Because the Amiga has no such RAM, some other method is needed to preserve these settings. A-Max sets the Macintosh clock for you but does not set any of the others. There are a variety of utilities to set some or all PRAM settings. Many are available from the public domain sources listed in the section below about finding public domain software. For accelerating the mouse, I recommend "Pointing Device," a Control Panel device that sets the mouse speed upon every startup to a predefined set of exacting acceleration thresholds you can define in the Control Panel. Note: RMouse2S, another popular Macintosh mouse accelerator, is not compatible with A-Max, because it only works with Macs with an ADB. A-Max emulates a Mac Plus, which does not have an ADB port. For setting the RAM Cache and Volume settings, try "Disk-Param." Many A-Max users do not bother with PRAM settings because the most important of them, the clock setting, is set automatically by A-Max. To change the window title bars to a pattern other than the horizontal lines that cause horrible flickering on interlaced displays, try "WindChooser,S which gives you a choice of 4 alternate title bar patterns. "Pointing Device," "Disk-Param," and "WindChooser" should all be available from one of the sources listed below in RWhere can I obtain public domain Mac software?S What's This I Hear About Apple Cutting Off The Supply Of ROMs? -------------------------------------------------------------- In September of 1990, some discouraging news came out for A-Max users. Apple, which had previously freely sold the 128K ROMs to whomever wanted to purchase them, was restricting the supply. Commencing September 15, 1990, Apple would only ship a new set of ROMs to dealers who returned a defective set. Are There Alternatives To Using Apple ROMs? ------------------------------------------- Since the above announcement, the supply of Mac 128K ROMs has indeed dwindled. This has opened the door to a new wave of EPROM copies of the Mac ROMs and to the distribution of pirated versions of A-Max which contain the Mac ROMs on disk. Until Apple makes the actual ROMs available again, the pirated versions will proliferate These pirated versions of A-Max will probably hurt Apple more than ReadySoft, because serious users of A-Max will still need to buy the actual product in order to obtain the cartridge to allow them to connect a Macintosh drive to their Amiga. The pirated versions of A-Max that load the ROMs from disk do work with the cartridge, so users that cannot obtain ROMs can find a pirated A-Max, buy the package, thereby circumventing Apple. Another potential method for circumventing the need for actual ROMs is to use either FastMax3 or MacROM2, discussed below under RIs there a way to make the ROMs load faster?S Are There Legal Alternatives To Using Apple ROMs? ------------------------------------------------- At least two third-party companies are currently developing alternatives to Macintosh ROMs. The most notable is a company called "NuTek" (not to be confused with NewTek, the developers of the Video Toaster.) As reported in the January 29, 1991 issue of MacWeek: "NuTek Chip Set Could Pave Way For Legal Clones A small start-up company is preparing to mount an assault on Apple's proprietary bastions. NuTek Computers, Inc. last week claimed to have developed technologies that will allow OEMs to create Mac-compatible computers without violating Apple patents and copyrights. NuTek will rely on Mac-compatible ROM it said was written from scratch and on the Open Software Foundation's Motif user interface. The company, funded by U.S. and Taiwanese venture capital, said that by the fourth quarter it will deliver all the components required for Mac compatibility, including Mac-compatible operating system software in ROM and on disk, user-interface software based on Motif, and three VLSI (very large scale integration) application- specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that replicate the Mac's internal logic functions. OEMs will need at least six months thereafter, NuTek officials said, to build Mac-compatible machines, using Motorola 68020 or 68030 microprocessors. Apple said it could not comment because it has not seen NuTek's technology. Computers developed with NuTek's chip set and software will have all the capabilities of Macs, according to Benjamin Chou, the company president. They will be able to use Mac peripherals and run all off-the-shelf Mac programs, except for those that access the hardware directly, he said. (sound like another product we all know? -Ed) Mac interface calls will be remapped to the Motif interface, but applications will retain full-functionality. NuTek said it has not decided whether it will attempt to replicate System 7.0's features. The company is currently negotiating with three key OEMs who have "global distribution channels," the company said. Analysts who had seen prototypes of the Mac compatibles said the execution appeared sound. "They've taken a very reasoned approach," said Bill Higgs, vice president of InfoCorp/Gartner Group in Santa Clara, Calif. NuTek stressed that it had taken scrupulous precautions to protect itself legally, following clean-room procedures and documenting all steps of its development process. It said it is financially prepared to withstand a legal battle with Apple and will shoulder legal liabilities on behalf of its OEMs. A legal battle is not unlikely, experts said. "I suspect Apple will try to find a way to challenge this," said Jack Russo, a computer law attorney based in Palo Alto, Calif. Apple will look for whatever it can "claim was derivative of its original work," Russo predicted. NuTek Computers Inc. is at 1601 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, Suite 250, Cupertino, Calif. 95014. Phone (408) 973-8857, Fax (408) 973-8557." What this means to ReadySoft and A-Max is that ReadySoft would seem to be a prime customer of NuTek, adapting A-Max to use the NuTek ROMs. Unfortunately, as stated in the article above, the new ROMs won't be available until Fall 1991 at the earliest, and probably much later when Apple sues them and delays the release. Is There A Way To Make The ROMs Load Faster? -------------------------------------------- As many A-Max users have noticed, the software takes about a minute to read and decode the ROMs each time A-Max loads. If you use A-Max heavily, this wait can become quite annoying. There are two different applications available that will 1) copy the ROMs into a file on disk, and 2) modify A-Max to load the ROMs from this file instead of from the A-Max cartridge. The end result of this modification is that A-Max startup time is reduced from a minute to seconds. These two applications are: 1) FastMax3 and 2) MacROM2. Most users have reported much better luck in getting FastMax3 to work. If you have A-Max 2.06, make sure you use version 3 of FastMax or version 2 of MacROM--earlier versions will not work with A-Max 2.06. Be aware that both these products require you to own A-Max and the ROMs; they will not run if they do not find an A-Max cartridge attached and ROMs installed in the cartridge. Personal report: I used FastMax3 to copy my ROMs to disk, and this utility DID work nicely, cutting ROM load time down to 1 second. Please be aware that there is a corrupt version of the FastMax3 archive circulating. The corrupted version has bad .info files that will crash your Amiga until they are erased from your hard drive. The FastMax3 executable in this version of the archive DOES work, but has to be run from CLI and without help from the "RunMe" file, which is also corrupt. Can A-Max Read Macintosh Disks? What Is An A-Max Format Disk? Why Can't A-Max Read Macintosh Disks In Amiga Drives? Do I Really Need To Buy A Macintosh Disk Drive? What is "SYBIL"? -------------------------------------------------------------- One quirk about the Macintosh is that it uses a radically different disk format than any other computer that uses 3.5" disks. Macintosh floppy drives are variable speed, unlike the constant speed drives used by Amiga, IBM, Atari, Sun, etc. This is why an actual Macintosh drive needs to be connected to A-Max if you want to read Macintosh floppy disks. Mac compatible 800K drives are available from Damark, a mail order clearance house for $79.95. I cannot vouch for the quality of these drives; I simply saw the ad in one of their catalogs. To use the Amiga floppy drives, A-Max formats floppy disks in a special A-Max format that is neither AmigaDOS format nor Macintosh format. This is to greatly increase compatibility with the Amiga drives; A-Max format floppies can even be sector-edited from the A-Max side. Had A-Max used AmigaDOS format, the disks would have been too different from Macintosh format to be used by the Mac ROMs. Macintosh format could not have been used because Amiga floppy drives cannot change their speed to read the Macintosh disks. If you don't wish to purchase a Macintosh floppy drive, see the sections on A-Max II+ and Transferring files to and from A-Max for other alternatives. A new product from Utilities Unlimited of Oregon, called "SYBIL", will supposedly allow A-Max users to read and write Macintosh format floppies in Amiga drives. No tests, only announcements of this product were available as of this writing, but if this product works, UUO will have[24;36H[0m[7mWorking[AI+ (see below) to market. Reports of SYBIL say that it will read Mac floppies both in and out of Macintosh/A-Max mode. But even if it only works under AmigaDOS, the files could be transferred from Mac to AmigaDOS floppy and then read into A-Max with FileTransferII (see below), supplied with A-Max. This product is a potentially exciting entry in the A-Max market. What Methods Can I Use To Transfer Files To And From A-Max? ---------------------------------------------------------- A-Max comes with a very good File Transfer utility that lets you move programs between the Amiga and Mac sides if you have a Mac drive attached to A-Max (or SYBIL; see above.) The utility also will translate the file as it is transferred if you so choose. The translation options available are "None," "Text" (Mac uses carriage returns in ASCII text, while Amiga uses linefeeds), "MacPaint," "MacBinary," and "PostScript." If transferring from Mac to Amiga, each option except "MacBinary" lets you choose whether to transfer the Data or the Resource fork of the Mac file. "MacBinary" is a format that translates both the Data and the Resource forks. ReadySoft also attempted to provide a method for transferring Mac files to and from A-Max without a Mac drive, for those users who had access to an actual Macintosh. This method calls for use of FTF (File Transfer Format) disks which are a hybrid format disk that can be written to by both Macintoshes and Amigas. An FTF disk holds about 200K and is formatted such that the usable portion is on the tracks for which the Macintosh spins the floppy at the same speed as the Amiga, thus forcing the Mac to write data that is readable by Amiga drives. Unfortunately, the FTF disks are both tedious and unreliable. This method of transfer, when it works, takes many times longer to use than if a Macintosh drive were connected to A-Max, and it does require the proximity of an actual Macintosh. Many users have reported problems using FTF disks; some could not get the Mac to recognize the disk, others could not get the Amiga to recognize them, and many could not get the FTF disk formatted in the first place. Because of the inconvenience and unreliability of the FTF method, it is widely suggested that any regular users of A-Max purchase a Macintosh or compatible drive for reading and writing Macintosh disks and transferring files. Some users have reported success using Apple File Exchange with A-Max II. Apple File Exchange is a Macintosh software utility (much like CrossDos or MSH for Amiga) that allows a Mac to read from and write to MS-DOS disks in Mac drives. Somehow this utility nearly works under A-Max, though it is not fully compatible. For those wishing to transfer files. Apple File Exchange is worth trying to see if its limited functionality can fulfill your transfer needs. Can A-Max Read High Density Macintosh Floppies? ---------------------------------------------- New products for the Macintosh 512E and Plus allow those machines that have a SCSI controller read Macintosh 1.44 Meg High Density floppy disks. The drive treats the floppy as a small hard drive, thereby overcoming the 128K ROM limitation of those machines. I have no information whether these products will work with A-Max. If you have any info, please contact me. Where Can I Find The DB-19 And DB-23 Connectors To Make Make My Own Mac Drive Interface? ------------------------------------------------------- Some folks have obtained a file that describes how to make their own hardware interface between a Mac drive and the Amiga. The schematics call for a DB-19 and a DB-23 connector. They may be obtained from: Benetech Electronic Supply P.O. Box 400085 Euless, TX 76040 (800) 866-6860 The file describing how to build the hard drive interface is apparently on FTP site ab20.larc.nasa.gov (128.155.23.64), though I have not seen it or built it myself. What is A-Max II+? ------------------ A-Max II+ is an internal card for the Amiga 2000 and 3000 series of computers that is being developed by ReadySoft. A-Max II+ will provide all the capabilities of A-Max II. The card replaces the need for the current A-Max cartridge by allowing the Mac ROM chips to be plugged into sockets on the card. In addition, it will allow A-Max to read and write actual Macintosh format disks in Amiga drives. It overcomes the problem of variable speeds by quickly turning the Amiga's drive motors on and off to slow them to whatever speed is needed to read a particular track of a Mac floppy. This effectively eliminates the need for a Macintosh floppy drive to be connected to the Amiga to read Mac disks. A-Max II+ will also provide an AppleTalk port that will allow A-Max to be connected to an AppleTalk network. A-Max II+ will add MIDI support to A-Max, for use with the multitude of MIDI products for the Macintosh. A-Max II+ will support Commodore's new 1.76 Mb high-density drive and will reportedly allow the new drive to read Macintosh high- density disks. However, only Macs with the 256K ROMs can use high-density disks. So in order for A-Max to truly make use of Commodore's new high-density drive, ReadySoft will have to treat high-density disks as something other than floppies. Time will tell what solution is implemented. A-Max II+ was announced by ReadySoft when A-Max II was released. The original due date was November 1990, but as of this writing the card has not yet been completed. The most recent estimate from ReadySoft is that it will be ready "in late October, once we get the software working with System 7." Can I Use A Hard Drive With A-Max? What Hard Drive Controllers Are Supported By A-Max? --------------------------------------------------- One of the most notable upgrades from A-Max to A-Max II was the addition of hard drive support. Most popular SCSI hard drive controllers are compatible with A-Max II, which requires its own specialized drivers to allow it to interface to various controller cards. Here is a list of HD driver files for A-Max II and the controllers they support: ALF.amhd - Amiga Loads Faster (ALF) cltd.amhd - C-Ltd controller comspechd.amhd - Comspec SA500/1000/2000 controllers DISscsi.amhd - CMI MultiPort board gvpscsi.amhd - GVP Series I and II* gvpat.amhd - GVP AT/IDE controller** harddisk.amhd - Xetec FastTrak hddisk.amhd - A2090 icddisk.amhd - ICD SCSI controller icddiskide.amhd - ICD IDE (AT style) controller ivs_scsi.amhd - TrumpCard controller ivs_SCSIpro.amhd - TrumpCard Professional (available from IVS) nexus.amhd - Advanced Storage System / Nexus controllers scsi.amhd - Commodore A590/A2091/A3000 scsi.amhd - Extam-688 Plus (different driver than above) supra.amhd - Supra A500 Byte Sync Controller*** * To use the gvpscsi.amhd driver with GVP ROM versions below 3.0, you must use the "Mount" command. ** To use the gvpat.amhd driver you also must use gvpat.device V2.4 and have A-Max 2.06 (or later.) *** Requires A-Max II v2.06 and Supra 1.10x controller software obtained from Supra; the cost is approximately $20-$30. There was also apparently a public domain Supra driver available on American PeopleLink (which no longer exists as of this writing; check the new AmigaZone on Portal). Thanks to Dan Zenchelsky and Dave Carlton for helping to compile this list. Note that A-Max can be used with a hard drive whether you have the 1.2, 1.3, or 2.0 Kickstart ROMs in your Amiga. If you are having trouble getting A-Max to recognize your hard drive or partition, make sure you have one of the above drivers in your sys:devs directory. A-Max II allows you to assign any partition or whole hard drive connected to the SCSI controller to be used with A-Max. Simply create the partition or connect the drive (either internally or externally) and assign the partition a volume name recognized by A-Max. With versions up to and including 2.04, this device name must start with the characters "AMAX". Version 2.06, attempting to comply with Commodore's standards for 3 character naming of physical devices, allows names of AX0, AX1, etc. What If My Hard Drive Controller Is Not Supported? -------------------------------------------------- ReadySoft has made the necessary information available to all 3rd party hard drive controller manufacturers to write drivers for their products. If a driver for your controller is not supplied with A-Max, contact your controller manufacturer. If they do not have a driver available, ask if they plan to and let them know that ReadySoft will give them all the info they need should they be interested in writing one. Another alternative is the RamRead and RamSave package from Clint Hastings. Here is an excerpt from the readme file: "This pair of programs, RamRead and RamSave, will allow you to quick-load the Amax RAM disk from your Amiga (hard) drive before you run Amax, or save the Amax RAM disk afterwards. I created these programs with the following objectives in mind: 1. Not all Amiga hard drives are supported by Amax (mine!). These programs remove most of the need to use floppies while running Amax for me. It also works with the original Amax I, for which no hard drive support is available. (In fact, you can use the same RAM disk with either version.) 2. Even if you have an Amax II-supported hard drive, you might like to have a pre-loaded Amax RAM disk available for speed reasons. 3. FAST file conversion. I do not have the Mac expertise necessary to create such a utility, but I know somebody out there does. The Amax II file conversion utility is OK, but it only does it one file at a time, and you are limited to files less than 800k. Through this RAM save method, files up to 7 megabytes could be converted as fast as your hard drive can read them. Would somebody please write this (and send me a copy :-) This software is available on FTP site ab20.larc.nasa.gov (128.155.23.64), and hopefully will make it to a Fish disk soon (if it has not already by the time you read this.) Is There A Way To Get Rid Of The A-Max Partition Icon? ------------------------------------------------------ When you partition part of a hard drive for use with A-Max, the icon for that partition will appear on your WorkBench if the hard drive is being used with an automounting controller. To keep the A-Max icon from appearing, the partition must be made not to automount. Using whatever hard drive tools that came with your controller ("HDTools if you have a Commodore controller), change the the A-Max partition from "FastFileSystem" to "Reserved File System." If using HDToolbox, ignore the warning "this will erase all data on this partition"--the data on your A-Max partition will be unharmed. By creating a mountlist for the partition, it can be mounted only when A-Max is to be used, and will not appear on WorkBench. The method for achieving this varies from controller to controller. However, a very handy utility for this task is "DInfo" which reads data from the hard drive's RDB and generates a mountlist for the partition. "DInfo" is FreeWare and can be found on FTP site "tukki.jyu.fi" (sorry, no IP number available as of this writing.) An example of this procedure follows. This example is for the gvpscsi.amhd driver and a Quantum 40 HD: Mountlist entry: AMAX: Device = gvpscsi.device Unit = 0 Surfaces = 3 BlocksPerTrack = 37 LowCyl = 369 HighCyl = 738 # This assumes the Quantum is configured as unit 0. Then: Mount AMAX: A-MaxStartup "gvpscsi.amhd" must be located in "DEVS:". Now, the "upper" half of the Quantum 40 will be used by A-Max II. Make sure the Macintosh partition doesn't overlap with any other partition (e.g. AmigaDOS') or the RDB on this drive. Thanks to Ralph Babel for this example. Can A Macintosh External Hard Drive Be Connected To The Amiga And Used With A-Max? ---------------------------------------------------- Yes. You should not try to access the drive from AmigaDOS, but A-Max will recognize any Mac hard drives connected to the Amiga once you enter Mac mode. Be sure the external drive does not have the same SCSI ID as any Amiga drives. Can A Macintosh CD-ROM Drive Be Used With A-Max? ------------------------------------------------ Yes. I received the following report from a user who did so regularly: "I have a Toshiba XM-3301B and GVPII SCSI with A-Max II drivers. The CD driver for the Mac comes with the CD-ROM drive and it works with A-Max II. "The only problem I am having is to get the CD-ROM drive to work with my GVP-II under AmigaDOS using Hypermedia Concepts drivers for the Amiga. Hypermedia's drivers only work with 590, 2091, 3000, and HardFrame controllers. If you have another controller card, like I do (GVP-II), you will have compatibility problems." Can I Use A Modem With A-Max? ----------------------------- A-Max will work with any modem (or any other device you can find Mac software to drive) that is connected directly to the serial port. So if you have an external modem on the serial port, it will work. A-Max will NOT work with the Supra 2400zi internal modem. It will also not work with a modem connected to a serial expansion board (such as the A2232 or the expansion hack published in Amazing Computing) where the modem is not plugged into the built-in serial port. Queries to ReadySoft revealed that they have no plans to modify A-Max to work with any modems not directly connected to the serial port. Due to a lack of certain lines in the Macintosh serial cable standard (such as that used for carrier detect,) 9600 baud is the maximum attainable under A-Max. Also, if you have problems getting your modem to work under A-Max, check to see if you have your modem dip-switches set to allow the computer to specify DTS. A-Max does not always set the voltage properly on this line, so disallow computer selection. Should I Buy A-Max Or An Actual Macintosh? What Are The Cost/Benefit Comparisons For A-Max vs. An Actual Mac? -------------------------------------------------------- (Be aware that this is a loaded question which asks for personal opinion. The following response reflects this.) If you already have an Amiga or are wary of buying a Mac because you sort of want an Amiga, I would recommend A-Max II. It is an impressive piece of software. A-Max is not a total replacement for buying a Mac--if you ONLY want a Macintosh and have no intention of using the Amiga side, get a Mac. If you need a color Mac, A-Max will not fit the bill; it emulates a Mac Plus, which is not color. But A-Max is a wonderful solution for the buyer who cannot decide between an Amiga and a Mac and does not have the money for both. Buyers do not make a great sacrifice in choosing A-Max over an actual Mac, owing to A-Max's high degree of compatibility and speed, and to the Amiga's versatility. So, in short: Buy (or at least strongly consider) A-Max if: * You already own an Amiga and want a Mac * You don't own either an Amiga or a Mac, and want both. Buy a Mac if: * You only want a Mac and don't need or want an Amiga. As for the benefits/costs of getting A-Max vs. an actual Mac: The Mac you could get for the price of A-Max (assuming you already own an Amiga) would not measure up performance-wise. According to MacWeek, the market price for a used Mac Plus is $560 and a complete A-Max package is approx. $400. A-Max gives you two machines in a box, so you save desk space. But that is the LEAST of the advantages. You also get a FASTER Mac; A-Max runs 14% faster than a Mac Plus, or about the same as a Mac SE (see the section on Speed Comparisons.) A-Max on an Amiga 3000 has been timed as faster than a Mac II. If you don't mind interlaced mode (or even better, if you have a flickerFixer, an A2320, or an A3000) you can run A-Max in 640x400 screen resolution, so you get a larger screen than a Mac Plus, SE, or Classic. You can even run it in overscan mode (672x460) so the horizontal screen size is greater than a Mac II, and vertical is nearly as large. You can also set the two screen colors, (which are obviously only black and white on a Plus/SE/Classic) to any two colors you desire. For example, some writers have claimed that yellow on blue is the most soothing combination of colors for the eyes; A-Max allows you to choose such a combination if you agree. Of course, there are tradeoffs to getting A-Max. Not all software runs on A-Max; many commercial games will not run. Many people would argue that if you own an Amiga, the games are better on the Amiga side, so this may not be a consideration, but it does bear stating. There is also the consideration of interlace flicker. A basic A-Max package may cost only $400, but to eliminate flicker a user could spend another $250 on a display enhancer and $300 more on a monitor to connect to the enhancer. These are options though, and it depends on the individual whether a $14 polarized screen filter will suffice to reduce flicker or whether the $550 display enhancer/monitor combination is better. But compatibility and display are the only two major costs of purchasing A-Max over a Mac Plus. Interestingly, you do not considerably sacrifice support from Apple in buying A-Max vs. a Macintosh. Unlike Commodore, who supplies a toll-free customer support hotline and Commodore Express service for its customers, Apple supports its owners entirely through its dealer network. Theoretically, an A-Max owner can get support from an Apple dealer just as a Mac owner can, so A-Max owners need not feel they have lost the "Apple connection" in not buying a Mac. How Much Of The Amiga's Memory Can Be Used By A-Max? ---------------------------------------------------- There seems to be a rumor circulating that A-Max can only use 1 megabyte of the Amiga's RAM and so will only give you a 1 megabyte Macintosh. Quite simply, this is not true. My A2000HD, for example, has 7 megs and A-Max II uses all of it. A-Max DOES incorrectly report the amount of RAM available once in Macintosh mode. Reports of incorrect RAM have varied from reporting 512K more than it should to up to 5 megabytes more than it should. This inconsistency does not hinder performance though; if you try to load a piece of software that requires more RAM than is actually available (but that A-Max seems to report IS available), the A-Max will catch itself and report the RAM deficiency. According to ReadySoft, A-Max II v2.06 can use up to 12 megs of Amiga RAM. See the section on "What problems were corrected with version 2.06," below. How Does A-Max Use The Second Amiga Mouse Button? ------------------------------------------------- It doesn't. The right mouse button has no function in A-Max mode. How Do You Run A-Max As An Option From The Startup Sequence? ------------------------------------------------------------ A utility called "CLIXECUTE" will allow you to run A-Max from the startup sequence by holding the left mouse button. This utility is available from jeremym@freezer.acs.udel.edu. What Video Modes Can A-Max Use? Is A Special Monitor Needed? -------------------------------[m[24;36H[K[A------------ A-Max can be used with any monitor that can be connected to the Amiga. The standard Macintosh display, such as that used by the Mac Plus, SE, and Classic, is a 512 x 342 pixel resolution display. A-Max lets you choose the Macintosh screen size you want to emulate, with choices ranging from the basic 512 x 342 through 672 x 460. A-Max also lets you choose, independently of the Mac screen size, the Amiga video mode you want to use. In order to produce a Macintosh screen with a resolution larger than 200 vertical pixels, A-Max provides numerous options: 1) A-Max will use a 640 x 200 display to show part of the Mac display and will scroll the screen when you move the pointer to a portion not currently displayed. 2) Similar to #1, but will jump to the undisplayed portion instead of smooth scrolling to it. 3) Use a 640 x 400 interlaced display to provide enough resolution to show the entire screen at one time. 4) Use an interlaced overscan display to provide enough resolution to display a 672 x 460 Macintosh screen. Most users find that options 1 and 2 are much too distracting to use regularly. But unless you own an A3000 or some type of display enhancer, options 3 and 4 produce a flickering interlaced display which you will also likely find distracting. There are solutions though. I recommend using option 3 or 4 and getting some kind of display enhancer to reduce or eliminate interlace flicker. For months I used an A2002 monitor with a polarized display filter to reduce the flicker. This produced a darker, yet usable and very inexpensive solution; such polarized filters cost only $10-$15. Another possible solution is to use an A1080 medium-persistence monitor, which greatly reduces flicker because the phosphors on its tube take longer to fade than normal display tubes. Now that Commodore's A2320 display enhancer is available, it is a high-quality solution that should be considered by every serious A-Max user. Using an A2320 or a flickerFixer with an "el-cheapo" VGA monitor yields good results, and makes your Amiga-side look much better too. Of course, there is the solution suggested by AmigaWorld; wear polarized sunglasses while using A-Max. ;-) How Do You Change The Default Colors? ------------------------------------- Two different methods of changing the screen colors for A-Max are described below. Thanks for these go out to their authors, Harry Meyer and Mike Powell. Please contact the authors of these methods if you have any questions, as I have not (as of this writing) had a chance to test either of these methods. Their e-mail addresses are listed after their files. 1) I have a workaround for the problem of wanting different colors within A-Max than are set within Amiga preferences. My solution is to launch A-Max from an IconX script. 1) Copy SetPrefs from Amicus disk 18 into dh0:c. 2) Generate the file BlackBackGnd by setting the A-Max colors desired with Preferences, cd'ing to dh0:devs, and copying system-configuration to BlackBackGnd. 3) Go back to Preferences and change the colors back to those you desire for AmigaDOS. While you are at it, modify an icon for use with the IconX script, as the A-MaxStartup icon is the wrong type for an IconX script. 4) Use the following IconX Script to use the new settings and run A-Max: SetPrefs dh0:devs/BlackBackGnd dh0:A-MaxStartup If you have Clixecute pointing at an A-Max start script, you'll probably want to add the SetPrefs line to that one, too. SetPrefs lets you change WorkBench with preferences from any file in any directory, rather than just the default sys:devs/system-configuration file. AC's Guide to the Amiga says that SetPrefs is on FFish157 as well as AM18, and that it was written by Martin Hippele. I don't have FFish157, but the doc on my copy of AM18 says it's from Willy Langeveld (now of VLT fame). I can also have a separate file, script, and icon to give me red text on black for when I want to want to show off to my amateur astronomer friends with my planetarium simulator. Red light doesn't kill the eye's dark adaptation, but the non-color Macs can only put out blue-white light. Harry R. Meyer hrmeyer@ucselx.sdsu.edu 2) For those who asked about the permanent modification of AMAX-II screen colors... (if you are of tired of blue on white... :-) Keep in mind that this modification is for AMAX-II ONLY. NOT the original AMAX, and further, there have been some updates since I came up with this, so it might not work on the newer versions (although it probably will). Do this at your own risk, and be sure that you use a BACKUP copy of the file, not the original... Get your favorite sector editor (NewZAP is a good one), and open the file "A-MaxStartup". You need to find the code 005A (Hex) in sector 97 of the file. This code appears in three places in the file, so be sure you find the one in sector 97... Simply replace this code segment in the format - 0RGB - where R= Red value, G= Green value, and B= Blue value. Always leave the first '0' alone. Ex: For Black, replace the 005A with 0000. For bright blue, set it to 000F etc. This alters the DEFAULT setting for the FOREGROUND color for AMAX-II. Sorry, but I didn't look for the code that sets the background color (currently white... probably 0FFF) it's in there somewhere. So, when done, save the changes then start AMAX! Be sure to select the DEFAULT button for Color. Good luck, Mike Powell mikep@hpmwtd.HP.COM What Printing Options Are Available From A-Max? ----------------------------------------------- A-Max, like any other computer system, offers an assortment printing options, of both low and high quality and varying expense. For those seeking an inexpensive solution, A-Max has an ImageWriter emulation mode which allows you to print to an Epson compatible printer while the Mac software thinks it is printing to an ImageWriter. The output from this method is not up to full ImageWriter quality (the output is stretched vertically), but is close, and is certainly acceptable for those who merely need rough-draft quality output. Higher quality output can be attained with a variety of methods. An Apple LaserWriter (or compatible) will readily connect to the Amiga's parallel port, but simply selecting the LaserWriter driver from Chooser seems not to work; the printer will seem to be processing, then it will suddenly be idle, and will not print. The problem appears to be with LaserPrep. Some users have reported that they have overcome this problem by installing the System 7 LaserWriter driver. While LaserWriters provide 300 dot-per-inch resolution, are fast, and support PostScript, they are quite costly. There are 3rd party PostScript printers on the market now, many costing less than $2000, such as the Epson EPL-7500. However, unless they come with their own printer drivers, these printers will suffer from the same incompatibility as the Apple LaserWriter when you try to drive them with the LaserWriter driver. Another high-quality option is to purchase a printer driver package that lets the Macintosh (A-Max) print to non-PostScript printers. "JetLink Express," the package recommended by ReadySoft allows a Macintosh / A-Max to print to numerous laser and dot-matrix printers. Using JetLink Express, which costs about $85 from most Macintosh mail- order catalogs, one can obtain 300 dpi laser printer output from LaserJet, DeskJet, InkJet, BubbleJet, Epson, NEC, Toshiba, Xerox, and other printers. Comparable to JetLink Express are packages such as "MacPrint" and "Freedom of Press." ReadySoft cannot confirm that either of these two products are compatible with A-Max II, but several users have reported successfully printing from A-Max II with them. JetLink Express or MacPrint? ---------------------------- I have tested both JetLink Express and MacPrint with a LaserJet IIP. Both packages let A-Max users print using 1) Fonts built into the printer or on a printer font cartridge, 2) Adobe Type Manager and Adobe Type 1 fonts, and 3) fonts provided with the package. Most users will want to use either 1 or 2, and should decide which of the two they would use more often, because that will be the primary deciding factor on which to choose. MacPrint has more features for handling printer-based and cartridge-based fonts, and should be used if the user will be using those fonts. However, if the user will be primarily using Adobe Type Manager and wants to print using Type 1 fonts, MacPrint often produces flawed, corrupted pages. JetLink Express is vastly superior in Adobe Type Manager support, and has specific commands that make sure it Rgets out of the wayS and lets ATM do its job. A public domain Deskjet driver for the Mac is available on FTP site sumex-aim.stanford.edu (36.44.0.6) that is compatible with A-Max 2.06. For lack of a DeskJet printer, I have not tested this driver with A-Max. If someone has, please let me know if it was compatible. What Do All These Accessories for A-Max Cost? --------------------------------------------- Here is a list of all the necessary items and of some optional ones you may wish to purchase. Be aware, of course, that many of the optional items will also be of use on the Amiga side, so aren't just for use by A-Max. Prices are constantly fluctuating, so the prices listed below are sure to be incorrect by the time you read this, but here goes anyway: Optional or Item Necessary? Approx. Price ------------------------------------------------------- A-Max II N $125 Mac 128K ROMs N $150 Mac Floppy Drive O $200 Polarized Screen Filter O $12 A2320 O $250 flickerFixer O $325 VGA monitor O $350 JetLink Express O $85 How Fast Is A-Max Compared To An Actual Macintosh? Can A-Max Be Accelerated? What Accelerators Are Compatible with A-Max? ------------------------------------------------------------- My personal tests (which agree with tests run by other A-Max users) show that A-Max running on an unaccelerated 7.14 MHz Amiga 500 or 2000 runs about 14% faster than an actual Mac Plus. This is roughly equal to the speed of a Mac SE. Any accelerator you add to your Amiga side will likewise increase the speed of the A-Max side. A-Max will recognize 68020 and 68030 CPUs and 68881 and 68882 math co-processors. According to ReadySoft, every Amiga accelerator available on the market as of this writing is compatible with A-Max. The only accelerators ReadySoft has ever experienced trouble with were the first generation CSA processor accelerators. CSA's currently sold Mega-Midget racer products are third generation and are 100% compatible with A-Max. A-Max running on Amigas with 68030 CPUs will think they are running under a 68020 CPU. The popular belief on this subject is that A-Max deliberately misreports the CPU in order to increase software compatibility. Thomas Tombs (tombs@ee.rochester.edu) at the University of Rochester ran speed tests on A-Max II and posted the following results: "Here are the results I got with my A3000-25/50 under AMAXII running 'Speedometer 2.5' compared to various Macs running the same program: Note: Values in parentheses indicate Floating point unit was NOT used. Higher values indicate better performance except for the Sieve and Savage tests. A3000/25/50 MacIIci MacIIcx MAC+ ------------------------------------------------------ KWhetstones/sec. 882.4(39.4) - 588.2(60.3) (7.37) Dhrystones/sec. 2871(2717) - 3736(3816) (768.8) Sieve (sec.) 3.70(3.83) - 6.00(5.98) (40.03) Savage Cum. Error 7.988e-10 - 7.988e-10 (2.297e-11) (2.297e-11) - (2.297e-11) - Savage Time (sec.) 8.52(71.43) - 11.13(40.27) (385.4) Savage Iterations 25000(5000) - 25000(5000) (5000) CPU test (6.40) (5.15) (4.25) (.87) Math test 95.27(5.24) (9.79) 95.27(7.82) (1.02) Hard disk test 2.69 3.42 2.95 - Performance rating (5.42) (5.73) (4.96) - Will use of a 68040 accelerator cause any problems with A-Max II? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, it will cause problems. ReadySoft will have to comment on the compatibility of the A-Max Emulator itself; I will comment on what I know about running Macintosh software on an '040. There is not currently a release of the Macintosh system software that is fully 68040 compatible, although 6.0.x versions can be modified to be T040 compatible, and such patches are what Mac T040 vendors are supplying with their products. Apple is working on an official T040 compatible release right now in order to have software to run on their pending '040 boxes. System 7.0.1b9 is their most current '040 compatible version. As we all know, System 7 will not run on A-Max. Current manufacturers of '040 boards for the Macintosh provide software patches to make current Mac systems work with their products. However, these patches can't totally fix some software. MacWeek had an article on '040 compatibility recently, and listed some software packages that were totally, partially, and not '040 compatible. Some software works fine as-is, some needs to be patched, some cannot be fixed. Stuffit Deluxe, Aldus Freehand, QuicKeys, MacDraw II, Pyro! 4, Suitcase II, and Super Boomerang are all examples of software that ARE T040 compatible. GOfer, Hypercard, MicroSoft Excel 3, and WriteNow are applications that require the T040 copyback cache to be disabled. PageMaker, After Dark 2.0, Disk Doubler, and Handoff II require patches to work. MicroSoft Word 4.0 and MicroSoft Excel 2.2 are entirely '040 incompatible (real surprise, huh? ;-). (Source: MacWeek, 6/4/91, p. 47). You have to test with each and every piece of software, each init, each control panel, each desk accessory to check its compatibility, if you are unable to obtain such info from its publisher. Instead of a 68040 board, perhaps heavy A-Max users should consider a GVP 50 MHz '030 board (or compatible; this isnUt a GVP plug). Avoid the whole '040 problem. What Are The Differences Between The Original A-Max and A-Max II? ----------------------------------------------------------------- The differences between A-Max (the original Mac emulator by ReadySoft, released in 1989) and A-Max II (the update to A-Max which was released in the late summer of 1990) are entirely in the software, and the differences are considerable. A-Max emulated a Mac 512E while A-Max II emulates a Mac Plus. A-Max II allows use of hard drives, emulates digitized Mac sound, offers more memory configuration options, and version 2.0.6 of A-Max II has now finally corrected the bugs with printing from A-Max. One other notable difference is that you could use 64K Mac ROMs with A-Max, you cannot use them with A-Max II - it requires the 128K ROMs. This is a software requirement though; the same cartridge is used. Why you should get A-Max II if you own the original A-Max --------------------------------------------------------- * If you own a hard drive, this is the biggest reason. The Mac, just like the Amiga (or nearly any computer) becomes a whole new beast when you add a hard drive. You will wonder how you ever did without it. * If you intend to print from the Mac side, you won't get good results without the newest (March 13, 1991) version of A-Max II. * If you own an Amiga 3000 with more than 8 megs of RAM, you need the newest version to avoid memory problems. * Some software will run on a Mac Plus but not a Mac 512E. * Sound, while considered by some to be a luxury, is part of the Mac system, and you aren't getting the whole picture with the original A-Max, which only emulated the basic Mac "beep." These are the big reasons. There are many other less significant (but possibly important to you) bugs that were fixed between the versions. I personally feel that the $54 upgrade price I paid for A-Max II was well worth it. What Problems Were Corrected With Version 2.06 Of A-Max II? ----------------------------------------------------------- The long-awaited version 2.06 was finally finished on March 13, 1991. This version corrects at least two major bugs, corrects a long-standing inconsistency with AmigaDOS, and corrects some unnamed minor bugs. Quoting from the README file on the disk: "Amigas with > 8 Mb RAM: Version 2.06 functions correctly with large RAM A3000s. The maximum selectable Mac system size is 8Mb; the maximum addressable by A-Max is 12 Mb. So if, for example, you have an A3000 with 16 Mb 32-bit RAM, and 1 Mb chip RAM (sic), A-Max will at most use 8Mb of 32-bit for Mac system memory, 192K of 32-bit for A-Max code, 128K chip RAM for A-Max use, and approximately 3.5 Mb 32-bit for the RAM disk. Of course these numbers only apply to the MMU memory mode." Another problem fixed in 2.06 is a bug that corrupted printouts to a LaserJet, DeskJet, InkJet, or BubbleJet printer using 3rd party printer drivers. Now that this is fixed, it opens the door to A-Max owners who would like to use inexpensive non-Postscript laser printers and still obtain high-quality output. See the printer options section for more info. Until 2.06, A-Max II had required that A-Max hard drive partitions be physically named with the first four letters "AMAX." Now, in keeping with Commodore's standards for device naming, 2.06 allows devices to be named AX0, AX1, etc. AMAX is still supported for users who used previous versions. Several new hard drive controllers are now supported; see the list of HD drivers in a section above. How Do You Tell What Version Of A-Max You Have? ----------------------------------------------- Just after entering Macintosh mode as the Mac starts up with the "smiley Mac," there is a text box at the top-center of the screen containing the ReadySoft copyright notice. In this box the version of A-Max is identified. Where Can I Obtain Public Domain Mac Software? ---------------------------------------------- For those of you looking for software accessories for A-Max, and who have access to computers connected to Internet, Bitnet, UseNet, etc. and with File Transfer Protocol (FTP) capabilities, try these FTP sites: 36.44.0.6 sumex-aim.stanford.edu 128.83.138.20 rascal.ics.utexas.edu 128.174.5.59 ux1.cso.uiuc.edu 130.216.1.5 ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz 141.211.168.70 mac.archive.umich.edu There are lots of goodies in the "info-mac" directory, such as mouse accelerators, control panel settings savers, etc. Of course, there are also the usual sources for public domain software; * Local User Groups * Compuserve, Apple-Link, GEnie, Portal (R.I.P. People-Link) * Apple dealers * Local bulletin board systems * University and college Macintosh labs What Are ".hqx," ".sit," and ".cpt" Files and How Can I Decode Them? -------------------------------------------------------------------- .hqx is a "BinHex"ed file. There are many ways to decode these files, but the easiest ways are to use Stuffit 1.5.1 or Stuffit Deluxe, OR to use Downline. Stuffit 1.5.1 and Stuffit Classic (the latter being a stripped down Shareware version of the commercial Stuffit Deluxe) will decode .hqx (by choosing "Decode BinHex file") and .sit files. Downline, a PD program that runs in the background under Multifinder, will automatically decode all .hqx and .sit files copied into a directory that you specify. .cpt files are created with Compactor, another shareware archival utility. Neither Stuffit nor Downline will decode .cpt files, so you must use either Compactor itself, or Compactor-Extractor, a PD utility. All the above utilities (except for Stuffit Deluxe) can be FTPed from many of the FTP sites listed in the previous section. About ReadySoft --------------- ReadySoft, the publisher of A-Max, is a Canadian company that also produces "64 Emulator II," a C-64 emulator. ReadySoft has excellent telephone support if you have a question about A-Max, and is able to recommend Macintosh software and Amiga hardware that is compatible with the package. ReadySoft can be contacted at: 30 Wertheim Court, Unit 2 Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada L4B 1B9 TEL: (416) 731-4175 FAX: (416) 764-8867