The vast majority of common applications use integer math, which is the type of calculation carried out by the computer's CPU. Not all programs will achieve the same degree of acceleration when ported to native code, though. You would think that in order to take full advantage of the PowerPC's capabilities, software must be written specifically to run on the Power Mac, i.e., written in native code.
The 6100/60’Äôs most noticeable limitation is its one 7-inch NuBus slot. The Power Macintosh 6100/60 gets you into the latest technology for just $2,000, including monitor, keyboard, and 8 MB of RAM. Every other company I contacted said to expect emulation to run between IIci and Quadra 700 speed. Apple says that depending on how the application is written, you can expect anything from fast 68030 speed (i.e., a Ilci) to fast 68040 speed. How fast programs will run under emulation is open to debate. So far, then, Apple's confidence in Power Mac's 68040 emulation seems well placed with regard to some popular, bellwether music programs. Eight-channel MIDI files played back correctly through both serial ports. Galaxy 1.2.5 and Vision 2.0 have a new copy-protection method and ran with no problem. He attributes this to a conflict between the Power Mac's new floppy-disk handler and version 1.2.2's older copy-protection scheme. However, Macweek's Power Mac spontaneously rebooted whenever O'Donnell tried to launch Opcode's Galaxy 1.22.
Passport's Alchemy sample-editor required more memory than expected but then ran well. This would also be the case on a Quadra, though, so it can't really be considered a problem. Opcode's Studio Vision 1.44 contentedly handled digital audio and MIDI together, though with multiple windows open and an extreme zoom setting, it started to slow down. In his current position as Macweek magazine's executive editor for reviews, O'Donnell tested several music applications on a prerelease Power Macintosh and reported no problems with Digidesign's Audiomedia II hard-disk recording hardware and Sound Designer II. Putting theory aside, I asked former EM editor Bob O'Donnell to share the results of his hands-on Power Mac testing.
0 kommentar(er)
