Product Reviews

There is plenty of talk about whether the Mac operating system will ever be ported to platforms other than the PowerPC. But what many people fail to realise is that one such port already exists; it's efficient, it's powerful and it's compatible with just about all Mac applications.

The port is called MAE, the Macintosh Application Environment, and version 3.0 supports a more recent version of the Mac OS than previous implementations, as well as adding speed and some other features. MAE runs on Unix workstations, specifically those running Sun's Solaris 2.4 or 2.5, or Hewlett Packard's HP/UX 9.0.x, HP/UX 10.10 or later. While this automatically disenfranchises most 'normal' users, there are plenty people who need the raw horsepower of a high-end Unix workstation, but who also want to be able to run standard productivity applications.

We tested MAE 3.0 on a Sun SPARCstation running Solaris 2.4. The recommended minimum Sun platform is a SPARCstation 10, 5 or 20, but even when we tried the software on an SS2 it ran quite happily. Installation needs to be done by the systems manager, and although it's not particularly complex, it is not for the fainthearted - you really do need to know a bit of Unix to make sure everything has happened correctly. It's also worth realising that there are a large number of patches that need to be applied to Solaris before MAE will run happily; again, this is something that your systems manager will need to do, but all the patches are fairly standard bug fixes that ought to have been applied to your machine anyway. Since this is Unix, MAE is happy running on an individual workstation on your desk or on a server somewhere else in the building; a licence determines how many people can run MAE at the same time.

If you have not seen previous versions of the software, prepare to be amazed when you launch it for the first time. A 640 by 480 pixel window appears, you hear a Mac-like start-up chime, and the 'Welcome to Mac OS' message appears. After the standard Extension loading sequence, your Mac Desktop is brought up, and you can start work.

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If your server is on a network, then you can use TCP/IP programs, such as Fetch, Eudora, Netscape Navigator and the like, immediately - MAE automatically configures the MacTCP control panel to use the right network interface. If you don't want to install software from scratch, you can transfer it from a 'normal' Mac to the machine running MAE by using standard FTP. The version of system software running is 7.5.3, and all the standard control panels and extensions, such as QuickTime, WindowShade, PC Exchange and so on, are present and work fine. You can even use AppleScripts if you like, since MAE 3.0 supports Apple Events for the first time.

MAE is actually emulating a 68LC040 processor, so SoftFPU is also supplied as part of the distribution - without it, you'll find that some programs refuse to run. This emulation means that any Power Mac-only software won't run under MAE, so make sure that if you're transferring programs over from a desktop Mac, you have installed the full 'fat binary', which includes the 680x0 program code.

In terms of performance, MAE is pretty respectable. It's never going to rival a real Power Mac, even when it's running on a high-performance workstation, but even running on a mid-range SPARCstation we got performance that we reckon is perfectly adequate for people who need to use Mac software like schedules, address books, and even word processors and spreadsheets. Don't think that you will have a great time trying to run Photoshop, but as long as you bear the inherent restrictions in mind you shouldn't be upset with the speed at which applications run.

MAE is certainly not for everyone, and if you really need the speed of a Power Mac, it is at best a pale imitation. But for those who need Mac compatibility, the famous Mac ease-of-use, and a reasonable speed (especially if running from a powerful server), MAE is well worth checking out. Even better, you can get a free 30-day trial version, with no limitations, from Apple's MAE Web site (http://www.mae.apple.com), so there's no excuse not to see what it can do.