VPC and hardware emulation
All:
Years ago, a company called Orange Micro made a board that was basically an x86 (286 that I recall) on an expansion-slot card. It had its own processor, memory, video, the whole schmeer. Has this type of solution simply become unrealistic (cost or difficulty-wise), or is it that running VPC is just so much less hassle and less expensive?
One would think that a VPC solution would be good for the causual user that needs Windows access, the hardware solution might be good for a more serious multi-platform requirement without the extra box sitting next to you.
Additionally, has the state of circuitry gotten to the point where one of these hardware options could be done on a PCMCIA-size card? Maybe double-thick?
Just an intellectual exercise
Years ago, a company called Orange Micro made a board that was basically an x86 (286 that I recall) on an expansion-slot card. It had its own processor, memory, video, the whole schmeer. Has this type of solution simply become unrealistic (cost or difficulty-wise), or is it that running VPC is just so much less hassle and less expensive?
One would think that a VPC solution would be good for the causual user that needs Windows access, the hardware solution might be good for a more serious multi-platform requirement without the extra box sitting next to you.
Additionally, has the state of circuitry gotten to the point where one of these hardware options could be done on a PCMCIA-size card? Maybe double-thick?
Just an intellectual exercise
Comments
oh well. wasn't there a rumor about VPC and jagwire running better?
<strong>i told the connectix people at macworld i would pay $400 for such a device. there really wasn't much interest. it must be more work for them that they care/can take on.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Connectix make software, not hardware, so i can't see them being interested anyway.
Orange still makes such boards don't they?
<strong>All:
One would think that a VPC solution would be good for the causual user that needs Windows access, the hardware solution might be good for a more serious multi-platform requirement without the extra box sitting next to you.
Additionally, has the state of circuitry gotten to the point where one of these hardware options could be done on a PCMCIA-size card? Maybe double-thick?
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I guess my question should be refined a bit...
It would seem to make sense (in my twisted logic) for Connectix to offer a "hardware accelerator" for VPC. That way, you could use VPC straight out of the box or, if you needed more heavy-duty capacity, buy the hardware accelerator that was really a PIII or even a PIV of some lower-end that was low-power and low-cost.
Add to that the possibility that this mythic "accelerator" could be done in a PCI card that could be used in a laptop ... well, talk about the best of both worlds :-)
Nah I dont think there would be much point in an addon card. If you really need PC hardware, you can get it so cheap it makes me cry (being an apple user, of course) ...
Sure I felt dirty, but it finally let me take my work home and get something accomplished. It's networked in with my G4 and iBook, and plays well with all my peripherals. And I have to say, XP is more stable than OSX for me, although I admit I use OSX more than XP.
It would have been nice to have a hardware/software solution from Connectix, which was rumored eons ago, but this is a good solution for me. I can even play games. Solitaire rocks at 1GHz.
peek around ebay and you might find a P1 card for dirt. it would still be better than vpc if you have less than an 800MHz mac.
Just food for thought.
Would it work in brand new Apple machines (after MWNY )
Watch out, Matsu will probably join this thread soon and tell us all that this is the stupidest idea he has heard of in a long time.
<strong>i had a 4867/33 in a poermac 6100.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I too had a Powermac 6100 back in the day, and I too had the 486DX/66 card that went in the oh-so-asinine Nubus slot. Ran Windows 3.1 on it when we needed access to some PC only programs at the time. This was 1994. I must say it worked just fine. It was miles away faster than our fastest PC (a 386 Dell) and proved to me that running Windows on a Mac was at least possible.
However, the implementation was confusing at best. Apple did a fair half-assed job of putting DOS control panels and such in System 7.5 with it, and while it worked fine once it was configured...that was the problem--it wasn't easy (I bought the PC card after the 6100 itself...).
If Connectix or anyone else were to approach an OS X solution to this, it would have to be plug-in, install, and go. Otherwise it wouldn't work. But I would be fairly interested in seeing it.
They ran Win95 ok, and you could get the Pentium 100 bundled with the 7200/120 (they called it the PC Compatible, for obvious reasons). You could get the 166 card with the 4400 series, too. I have the 7200 PC Compatible, and it actually runs pretty good, though not well enough for modern stuff. I can definitely say I'd be willing to pay for a laptop-compatible hardware solution - professional accounting software is mostly PC only, at least for the inexpensive varities, and VPC, even at version 4 on a G4, is painfully slow.
<a href="http://www.spacewalker.com/sv24.htm" target="_blank">http://www.spacewalker.com/sv24.htm</a>
Get a CPU for about $100
Get 256MB Ram for about $30 Maybe I am not sure go check for yourself
<a href="http://pricewatch.com" target="_blank">http://pricewatch.com</a>
And I am sure you guys should have some 5Gig or maybe 10 Gig harddrive lying around somewhere , just put that in the machine, then you got yourself a P3 1Ghz Machine for about $350 already.
Forgot about CD-Rom, err... I just took apart my sony USB CD writer and put it in the machine, anyway buying one would be cheap too.
[ 07-03-2002: Message edited by: ihxo ]</p>
[ 07-03-2002: Message edited by: ihxo ]</p>
Also, last I checked, there was a company in Vancouver writing/selling drivers for these cards that were OS9/Doze 2000 compatible (or so they claimed).