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  • Greetings and welcome to a classic LGR computer thing!

  • And this time we've got a fascinating hybrid system from 1995:

  • the Power Macintosh 6100/66 DOS Compatible.

  • Yep, this is an Apple product built to run both Mac OS and Microsoft DOS, with the ability

  • to switch between the two at any time and even run programs simultaneously.

  • Check it out!

  • [keyboard keys clacking]

  • [Passport.mid music plays]

  • Ahh, this is precisely my kinda fun right here.

  • Sure, you can perform similar tasks running Windows software on a modern Mac using Parallels,

  • but that uses virtualization software and an existing Intel CPU to do the job.

  • This 6100, however, doubles up on hardware to achieve a high level of integration between

  • the warring factions of DOS and Mac OS.

  • So in addition to the Power Mac's 66 megahertz PowerPC 601 CPU, there's also a legit Intel

  • 486 inside, working in tandem with the Macintosh half of things

  • to provide two computers in one.

  • As you may imagine, this was not cheap,

  • starting at $2,199 when it hit the market in January of 1995.

  • At least for one with a 2x CD-ROM drive, 500 megabyte hard disk, and 16 megs of RAM.

  • But memory upgrades were very much recommended, since by default,

  • system RAM was split between DOS and Mac.

  • So the total cost could rise to about $5,049 in 1995, if you wanted the officially-supported

  • maximum of 72 megabytes of RAM.

  • Yeah memory was expensive stuff back then, I mean look at these prices from October '95.

  • Over $1,400 for a single 32 meg memory module,

  • and you needed two of them to max out this machine.

  • Then there's the DOS Compatible PDS board itself that can take its own 72-pin SIMM module,

  • so adding just 16 megs to that would've set you back another $700.

  • Still, even without any RAM upgrades at all, the 6100/66 DOS Compatible was appealing on

  • a multitude of levels for the right customer.

  • You're effectively getting two complete systems in one here, and for folks that used

  • DOS at work and a Mac at home, or vice versa, then this was a mighty tempting setup.

  • Yeah it cost a good chunka change,

  • but it was still less than buying a 486 PC and a Power Macintosh individually.

  • And if you already happened to own a compatible Mac, Apple also sold the DOS Compatible PDS

  • card on its own for $739.

  • There were a whole slew of these cards from Apple in the mid-90s too, but this card here

  • comes with a 66MHz 486DX2 processor on-board, 256K of L2 cache, and a Chips & Technologies

  • graphics chipset accessing 512 kilobytes of video memory.

  • You also get a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Vibra 16 chipset, providing both 16-bit stereo

  • PCM sound and Adlib-compatible OPL3 music for MIDI playback and FM synth sound effects.

  • This passes through the CD-ROM audio header on the Macintosh mainboard, meaning that both

  • DOS and Mac go through the same audio system to play through the 6100's internal speaker.

  • And around back is a multi-function port with a breakout cable providing both video output

  • and a 15-pin gameport, so PC joysticks and monitors both plug in here.

  • Speaking of monitors, there are two ways of displaying DOS.

  • One is to use a single monitor and combine the two outputs using that breakout cable,

  • making the DOS system pass through to the Mac.

  • Doing it this way, a keyboard shortcut is used to switch between DOS and Mac mode, so

  • only one or the other can be viewed even though they're both running simultaneously regardless.

  • Or you can use two separate monitors, one for the DOS card and one for the Mac, by plugging

  • each display into their respective video output ports.

  • This lets you see both operating systems running at the same time side by side, though you

  • can still only use or the other seeing as peripherals are shared between systems.

  • Though, I suppose you could play a game with a joystick on the DOS side and play another

  • one with a mouse on the Macintosh side, but uh yeah,

  • not much point to that other than it being awesome.

  • Oh and in my case, I'm doubled up on dongles here, since the 6100 uses an HDI-45 port for

  • video and I don't have a monitor that uses that.

  • But for now let's ignore this array of Apple adapter aggravation, hide it all away behind

  • here like it doesn't exist, and try out some classic DOS games

  • on our Apple-sanctioned 486!

  • [powers on]

  • [6100 startup chord plays]

  • [notable hard drive/fan noise]

  • Ah that short-lived Mac startup chord, haven't heard that in a while.

  • Not that it was easy to hear at all with how loud the fans and hard drive are.

  • The latter of which is louder than it should be

  • but like my local city council that's mostly due to its age.

  • Anyway yeah, this particular 6100/66 received some upgrades by its previous owner, with

  • the aforementioned 72 megs of RAM and also System 7.5.3

  • an incremental update over the factory-installed 7.5.

  • And while there are plenty of powerful Mac things to do on this Power Mac, the DOS Compatibility

  • mode is the star of this particular show.

  • The way this works is that you simply press Command+Return on the keyboard, and it'll

  • switch right on over into DOS mode and begin booting the system just like a PC.

  • Mostly, sort of.

  • Eh okay, I've been beating around the bush this entire video so far, but you may have

  • noticed that I haven't yet called thisPC compatible.”

  • Because it's not. Not exactly.

  • Apple specifically calls itDOS compatiblebecause it is specifically made to be compatible

  • with software for MS-DOS, not an entire Intel-based PC.

  • Due to its reliance on the Apple software used, which manages everything from peripheral

  • sharing to booting the system, it's only designed to run MS-DOS version 6.0 and higher.

  • So that means no OS/2, no Linux, no x86 BeOS, no Windows NT.

  • Although, this does mean that it fully supports Windows 3.1

  • and even Windows 95, albeit not 100%.

  • [ding!]

  • But yeah, Windows 3.1 running under DOS 6.22 is the ideal environment for this setup,

  • which is why Apple bundled those with the system.

  • You get manuals and disks for both of them, some software for the Macintosh and DOS sides

  • of things to communicate with one another,

  • as well as driver disks for the DOS card's graphics and sound.

  • And man is it strange to see Apple-branded Sound Blaster 16 disks, that is just surreal

  • even knowing the context.

  • And hearing proper Adlib music emanating from a Macintosh?

  • It feels wrong, but in the best kind of way.

  • [Jill of the Jungle plays]

  • And then there's just the whole act of running PC applications and playing DOS games on a

  • mid-90s Macintosh, while simultaneously running System 7.

  • I understand it, I accept it, but it still feels like black magic to me.

  • That's not to say it's better in every way of course.

  • To begin with, Apple has always had a thing for single-button mice,

  • whereas PCs almost always had at least two buttons.

  • So you have to press the 'equals' key on the keyboard to right click here,

  • so that's a bit of a pain.

  • Likewise for inserting and ejecting floppy disks, due to the way Macintoshes are Macintoshes.

  • Inserting a floppy in Mac OS mounts it as a volume,

  • so if you switch over into DOS, it can't see it.

  • You have to insert the disk while in DOS mode for the A: drive to function at all.

  • And with no physical eject button you'll be relying on the keyboard for that,

  • with Command+E ejecting disks.

  • [floppy disk ejects]

  • It's similar with the CD-ROM, where a disc is only recognized if you insert it in DOS

  • first, and ejecting is yet another keyboard command.

  • Then there's the fact that DOS runs slower than it would on a comparable PC with the

  • same 66 megahertz 486DX, something especially notable

  • if you haven't populated the DOS card with its own RAM.

  • This is partially due to the memory sharing situation, where the Macintosh just uses the

  • system DRAM for video memory and then shares what's left with DOS.

  • The resulting slowdown is especially notable with games like Doom, where it teeters on

  • the edge playable, running more like a lower-end 486 with half the speed this actually has.

  • Compare that to how the Mac port of Doom runs on the Power Mac side with the same amount

  • of RAM, and yeah, it's apparent the DOS card has its limitations.

  • Again though, this is partially a memory restraint, so if you drop some RAM onto the card itself

  • then you can achieve significantly better results.

  • Though it's still not as fast as a proper PC with its own graphics card.

  • And since the Mac's only expansion slot is populated by the DOS card here, any PDS

  • video card upgrade options are off the table, so there's only so far you can take this.

  • Again though, the 6100/66 DOS Compatible was made for a certain type of user

  • that demanded dual system integration above all else.

  • So while it's not a gaming powerhouse, there's a lot going for it in terms of communication

  • between the two systems.

  • Like the ability to quickly share text between Mac, DOS, and Windows 3.1.

  • Apple's DOSCLIP and WINCLIP software lets you select, copy, and paste what you see on-screen,

  • including text and characters straight from a command line, and even certain compatible

  • images to and from the clipboards for Windows and Mac OS.

  • And then of course, there's local file sharing.

  • In DOS, you can use the MACSHARE program to access Mac OS folders as drives.

  • And under Mac OS, you can easily mount the DOS drive container as a volume and manipulate

  • files and folders that way.

  • Speaking of which, yeah!

  • It uses drive container files to take care of hard disks, much like a software VM.

  • So if you've got the space for it, you're free to keep multiple virtual hard drives

  • and partitions on-hand and swap them out using the PC Setup Control Panel.

  • This is also where you do things like select monitors, memory, serial ports, sound and

  • startup options, making it pretty painless to swap through a variety of different DOS

  • and Windows 3.1 setups.

  • So despite the hardware limitations and performance setbacks, the Power Mac 6100/66 DOS Compatible

  • has become one of my favorite mid-90s machines to play with

  • when I'm in the mood to think different.

  • As a fan of both DOS and Mac gaming from back then, having both in one case with the

  • ability to so quickly swap between the two is just awesome.

  • It's not the only Macintosh to do this by any means, and it's certainly not the fastest

  • machine on either the Power Mac or MS-DOS gaming front.

  • Each OS experience on its own here is rather middle of the road, really.

  • But when combined, it's one of thosegreater than the sum of its partsnovelties

  • from a fascinating period in retro computing, so I don't even care.

  • This is a system that lets me play Glider Pro one moment and Commander Keen the next,

  • and that's good enough for me.

  • [Secret of the Oracle music plays]

  • If you enjoyed checking out this '90s computer-y goodness,

  • then might I recommend some of these others I've uploaded.

  • Or subscribe to be notified of future LGR stuff, with new videos going up each week

  • about all sorts of retro tech.

  • And as always, thank you for watching!

Greetings and welcome to a classic LGR computer thing!

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1995年蘋果的MS-DOS兼容486 Macintosh! (Apple’s MS-DOS Compatible 486 Macintosh from 1995!)

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    林宜悉 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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