The revolutionary MACEXCHANGER ShareWare program (TT approved!!) ================================================================ Date: aug 25, 1990 (first revision) From: Hubert Nooijen -------------------- I've done it again! It is now possible to use Mac diskettes on the ST! With MACEXCHANGER, you can transfer your Spectre diskettes to a special 720KB Mac format which can be read or written by ANY Mac with a FDHD drive without any trouble! This is a high-density disk drive (also known as SuperDrive) which can read or write standard MS-DOS diskettes (using appropriate software), as well as the normal Mac (GCR) formats. It is also possible to transfer a 720K Mac disk to Spectre, thus you have virtually no need for special hardware to exchange disks with a Macintosh! As Apple delivers all current Macintoshes with a SuperDrive (except the obsolete Mac Plus, and probably the Mac SE), the future of special hardware for reading/writing GCR diskettes on the ST looks very dim... This program is distributed in a LIMITED version under a variant of the ShareWare system. It means, you may try it out for a while and copy it to anybody you like; but if you want to USE the program (for some purpose), you have to pay for it (like any other ShareWare program). By paying the ShareWare fee of Hfl. 50,- for the FULL version of MACEXCHANGER, you will receive the full version of the program and - as a registered user - you will be notified of any product updates. If the limited version of MACEXCHANGER is sufficient enough for you, you can also pay Hfl. 25,- (ShareWare fee for the LIMITED version). In that case, you will not receive the full version, but only become a registered user. NOTES: * The limited version of MACEXCHANGER can only convert Spectre to Mac, not the other way around. Nor gives it the possibility to format a 720K Mac disk (menu option F4), to be used on that computer (The Mac refuses to format a 720K - MFM - disk suitable for the ST...). * The current version of MACEXCHANGER supports only double sided HFS disks. * Because the Mac disk capacity is 80KB less than Spectre's, you can lose some information residing in the last 80K of a Spectre disk when converting a 800K Spectre disk to 720K Mac. The Mac 'sees' that the disk contains invalid data and wants to repair it ("This disk needs minor repairs"). Don't worry; all it does is rewrite a new Desktop file. Also, MACEXCHANGER warns you about the disk's size (with the option to resume or cancel). To prevent such problems, I've included the option to format a 720KB Spectre disk (menu option F2). It is in all respects a normal Spectre disk, except that you can store 80KB less on it... To transfer a disk from Spectre to Mac, press function key F3; to transfer from Mac to Spectre, press F1. If MACEXCHANGER complains about the disk size, either the source disk is (or has been) a 800K one, or you have inserted the wrong disk (Spectre instead of Mac, or vice versa). MACEXCHANGER is a copyrighted piece of software; you are granted to copy the program to anybody you wish, as long as the program and this document are kept together. MACEXCHANGER may not be sold commercially, or included in commercial products without written permission from the author. ShareWare payments can be made by sending Hfl 50,- (or Hfl. 25,- for the limited version) to PostGiro nr. 1884895 of mr. H. W. Nooijen, mentioning "MACEXCHANGER fee" or by sending a check or money order to the address listed below. For foreign customers, the fees are as follows: FULL version LIMITED ------------------------------ Germany DM 75,- DM 37,50 USA $ 40 $ 20 Others $ 40 $ 20 If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me! My address is: Hubert Nooijen Diamantpad 18 2628 SC Delft The Netherlands PostGiro Account nr. 1884895 (PostBank) Other Bugbasher products: STARTUP.PS - Make UltraScript print PostScript documents from the Mac. ALADCONV & SPECINT - Two programs in one package: ALADCONV for converting your old Aladin diskettes to Spectre, and SPECINIT for all your Spectre formatting needs.