Re: IBM disk images of Apple II software disks (what about real disks?)

[Randy Shackelford <shack@onyx.southwind.net>]

Supertimer <supertimer@aol.com> wrote:

: Ok, so Commodore 64 emulator users get to plug REAL 1541 disk
: drives into PC parallel ports and read REAL Commodore 64 disks.

Those 1541 drives are intelligent devices with their own 6500 series
processor. My recollection is that these are serial devices and would hence
connect to a serial port. In any event, they function much like a printer
or something of that nature.

: Would it be possible to connect a REAL Apple II disk drive to
: the PC's parallel port and write a program or emulator to support
: it?

Apple's 5.25 drives are unintelligent and rely on the logic on a disk II card
or a built in IWM to run 'em. That's why the LC IIe card has an IWM on it.

: If it works for the C64, why not the Apple II?

: If it works for the Apple II, why not the Mac?

: I know that all current Mac software is 1.44MB or CD-ROM
: install, so 800k support seems pointless, but picture a former
: Mac user currently using a Windows 95 PC with Gemulator
: (a Mac Quadra emulator) and MacOS 8.  Suddenly, the user
: realizes that he or she needs to get data from an old disk and
: remembers that the disk is 800k!

Well "former Mac users" can just go it in my opinion if they can't network
their existing Mac to their wintel box. BTW did you help develop this 
gemulator thing or get kickbacks from sales? You never pass up a chance 
to mention it and how it's supposed to run OS 8.
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