MacDrive 98 makes a PC disk drive multilingual
Apple’s Macintosh has been able to read and write PC-format 3.5" disks for many years. Now Media4 Productions’ MacDrive 98 application lets PCs return the favor. With MacDrive 98, Windows NT, and Windows 9x, PCs can access 3.5" disks, CD-ROMs, and removable hard disks formatted for use with Macs.
MacDrive 98 is invaluable when exchanging disks with Mac users. A good example of this interchange involves exchanging a desktop publishing file with a Mac-based service bureau. Although the service bureau I use can read my PC-generated disks, using MacDrive 98 to generate the disks eliminates any confusion or second-guessing that might occur.
Mac-compatible disks can also be a source of useful information. For example, I can use MacDrive 98 to access and use Mac-based clip art CD-ROMs and Adobe Type 1 font files with many Windows applications.
Although MacDrive 98 provides compatibility with the latest Mac formats, the software does have some limitations. For example, MacDrive 98 can’t read or write older 400KB and 800KB disks (for more information on different disk formats, see the sidebar, "Not All Disks Are Created Equal"). A minor limitation is the Mac's 31-character filename length limit. When you move a file with a long filename (more than 31 characters) from a PC to a Mac, the software truncates the filename on the Mac disk similar to the name conversion you encounter when working with DOS 8.3 filenames under Windows.
Install and Go
MacDrive 98 fits on one 1.44MB diskette, so installing the software is fast. The installation program adds hooks into the OS that let any application access Mac-formatted disks. The installation software also adds Control Panel configuration support and enhancements to the NT Explorer.
I found MacDrive 98 remarkably easy to use after installation. MacDrive 98 adds Mac disk formatting and disk copy operations to right-mouse context menus in the NT Explorer, as Screen 1 shows. These menu options are comparable to the existing format and disk copy operations that the NT Explorer already provides. The only difference is the MacDrive 98 options use Mac disk partitions instead of Windows disk partitions. NT Explorer differentiates Mac disks by displaying a small red apple in the lower right corner of the disk drive icon.
Within my company, MacDrive 98 lets our Windows-based systems automatically recognize Mac-based disks and makes these Mac disks available to any application. For example, we created documents using the Windows version of Microsoft Word and Adobe PageMaker on a Mac disk for subsequent use on a PowerMac.
When you use MacDrive 98, the NT Explorer displays an extra MacDrive 98 tab on the Properties dialog box for Mac files, directories, and disks. These tabbed dialog box pages list Mac attributes, some of which don't directly correspond to PC attributes that you can change on a per-file basis. For example, Mac files and folders have a named locked attribute, which is similar but not the same as the PC read-only attribute. Although PC applications can’t access the Mac attributes directly, you can change these attributes using MacDrive 98.
MacDrive 98 provided good performance. I was able to use Mac disks as easily as PC disks. The NT Explorer displayed disk directories just as quickly for Mac-formatted disks as for PC-formatted disks. Read and write performance on the same disk using different formatted media was also the same. The only real decision was whether to format a new disk for the Mac or PC.