Re: Is it true that Apple

[DON.HANSON@rook.wa.com (don hanson)]

 -=> Quoting Jcoffey@crl.com to All <=-

 Jc> Actually, hard drive access time was it's weakpoint.  SInce it
 Jc> emulated a  PC dirve via a large file on the Apple drive, it a) took up
 Jc> a lot of  space since you had to leave enough room for all disk space
 Jc> you thought  you might need; b) it translated the files as it read
 Jc> them.
 Jc> It also required a special 3.5 drive, or an Apple 3.5 drive attached
 Jc> to  it in order to read MS Dos disks.  Unfortunately, you couldn't boot
 Jc> from  the 3.5 attached to it, and reading Apple disks from it was
 Jc> problemattic  at best.  Many programs refused to run off of my Apple
 Jc> 3.5 when it was  attached to the PC Transporter.

I am currently using a PC Transporter and use it daily.  The big file it
makes on a portion of your HD is any size you desire, and holds just about
that much MS/DOS stuff.  From ms/dos it just looks and acts like a normal
HD.  Runs everything ms/dos that doesn't require a 286 or a joystick.  Mouse
works fine.

You have to have a "Transdrive"  which is a two slot external case with a very
small board in it and a regular IDE 5.25 drive (360K).  You can put any
DD IDE 3.5 drive (720K) in the other slot, just plug it in like inside your
IBM clone mini-tower.
These drives will, boot, read, write, and exchange to other
MS/dos machines as well as a real IBM.  (The above limitations were only with
using the Apple 3.5 hooked to the PCT.)  These Transdrive cases were made by
AE or by Meiji.  Once you find a used case any DD IDE drive mechanism will
plug right in.  I have a 386 sitting right next to the GS since I teach CAD
and the latest version of designCAD required a 286 (&up).  But the PCT is still
great for a lot of things, and is unbeatable as a platform for transferring
files from MS/DOS to Prodos, and vice versa.  I can download files (executable
or text) for either platform, on either computer and translate it to the
proper platform in seconds.

Down side is:  CGA, 640K, DD disk drives, 7.65mhz speed    are not upgradable.
Can add a math co-processor though which makes it a real speed demon (for a
XT) in CAD (but way slower than today's machines).

I have two GSs with PCTs that for years have been running msdos things like:
programming
in BASIC, Turbo Pascal, C, C++; word processing; dbase; games.  Great for the
Apple II owner who occasionally has to bring MS/DOS work home from the office,
as long as it is stuff that will run on an XT.  It is not a great platform
for power user stuff though.  Windows is almost impossible to get on it (a
plus in my book), CAD and compiling are relatively slow, and some programs
will check the processor during installation and just flatout tell you they
refuse to load on anything less than a 286, 386, etc.
-don
 former PC Transporter Info Sysop for the Washington Apple Pi

... Turn your 386 into an XT, use Windows!
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