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Intel and PPC in same box...
Authored by: gabester on Apr 02, '06 09:13:33AM

Has been done, by Apple, once before - anyone remember the DOS-Compatible PowerMacs from 1994-1996? You could get 6100s and 7200s with NuBus and/or PCI cards that had 80486s on 'em. They had their own built-in video (there was a funky cable to connect your single display to both the Mac's and the PC's video) but could share your RAM, HD, keyboard and mouse. You had to boot MacOS (System 7.5 at the time), but once you did, you could toggle the PC on-a-card on and switch to it with a keystroke - cmd-= (equals) if my memory doesn't fail me.

I've still got one of these from my 6100 sitting in the basement; I don't have a 6100 any more so I should sell it on Ebay I guess. But it's got the full set of install floppies for DOS 6 and Windows 3.1!

I've often wondered why Apple wouldn't just do something like the reverse of this for Intel-based Macs to allow a direct PPC execution of non-Universal binaries.
g=



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Intel and PPC in same box...
Authored by: juststranded on Apr 02, '06 03:11:54PM

"I've often wonder why..."

...the whole point in switching to Intel is because the PPC processors weren't doing the job. That would just prolong the switch.



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Intel and PPC in same box...
Authored by: macwebmac on Apr 03, '06 12:22:11PM

I still have Quadra 650 with 80486 card in it. I remamber how great thta stuff was. Press key and it switches to windows, press again and it goes to mac. I hope we will get something like that in software for macintels in future either from apple or third party developer. hope virtualisation or whatever will bring it.



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