Details:
Recently you may have seen a printout from Jeff Kell stating that the newest version of Banner 2000 will not support the Macintosh directly. Accessing
the Banner data (when it becomes available) via a Web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer) will still be possible with a Macintosh, but direct entry
will not. For those of us who still "require" a Macintosh, CECA has investigated two possible software solutions. They are:
Virtual PC 2.0 from Connectix (makers of Speed Doubler) at a cost of approx.
$149 for Windows 95 version.
SoftWindows 95 from Insignia at a cost of approx $250.
Test Mac: G3 266Mhz 64M Ram
Allocated Memory: Each emulator simulated a PC with 32M RAM
Requirements: Both emulators require a PowerPC chip with 32 Meg of memory. Open Transport (MacOS 7.6 or greater) networking is required by Virtual PC and recommended for SoftWindows.
Realistically both emulators need at least 300 Meg of hard drive space.
Installation: Both emulators installed from CD quickly and easily.
Performance: SoftWindows started quicker and opened applications faster. Word 97 (from Office 97) opened with an average of 7 seconds while Banner opened with an average of 15 seconds.
Networking: Both emulators have the entire set of protocols as Windows 95 (NetBIOS, IPX, TCP/IP). Neither application liked sharing TCP/IP (can not have Netscape open in both MacOS and the emulator), but NetBIOS/IPX were unaffected by using TCP/IP under MacOS. The "killer" for Virtual PC came in this category. Virtual PC REQUIRES TWO (2) UNIQUE IP addresses if you wish
to use TCP/IP on both VPC and the MacOS. One of these addresses must also
be STATIC (not DHCP). SoftWindows can use the same IP for both the MacOS
and SoftWindows. DHCP worked fine on SoftWindows, acquiring the same IP under Windows and MacOS. (Tech Note: The same Media Access Control, MAC for
short, address is used by Windows and MacOS). I called Virtual PC's tech support and asked if the TWO TCP/IP address requirement could be
removed/bypassed and the answer was no. When I commented that SoftWindows only required one IP, I was told that no plans are underway to "fix" this
problem.
Limitations: TCP/IP under SoftWindows worked well for established applications like Eudora, Internet Explorer, and Netscape with the
limitation that the MacOS did not have any similar program running. The Banner software was more "particular" in that no TCP/IP applications could
be started in the MacOS. The simplest solution was to restart the Macintosh, open SoftWindows, and then start the Banner software. Other non-TCP/IP Macintosh applications, such as Office 98, had no problems running at the same time as Banner.
Conclusion: While it may require Macintosh users to learn Windows 95, it is possible to run the Banner 2000 software on a Macintosh.
please email questions to mike-ward@utc.edu.