Results are rendered in clean 3-D perspective at the blink of an eye and are updated dynamically. Every new machine comes equipped with a graphing calculator desk accessory that emulates the MacGrapher used in Mathematics 21a-only better.įormulae are entered in standard mathematical notation, rather than calculator shorthand. Thus, the Power Mac offers an unmatched price-performance package for intensive, scientific applications.īut, users of the new Macintoshes need not own Mathematica in order to appreciate the Power Macintosh's number-crunching prowess.

Wolfram Research has released a new version of its popular Mathematica system in a native Power Macintosh format, and it is here that the new CPU architecture really shines.Īpple's base price for the new machines far undercut those of typical workstations. This said, one must wonder, 'Does the Power Macintosh merit all the type it has received in the industry over the past few months?' At least when it comes to number-crunching applications, the answer is: 'Yes.' Windows emulation is restricted to Microsoft's '386 Standard Mode.' This compounds the performance problem and results in a Windows system that loses its usefulness beyond anything but the simplest of applications. Though the literature claims Windows performance comparable to Intel 80486SX-based PCs, I found the interface to be noticeably jerky when maneuvering the mouse. Moreover, the much-ballyhooed Microsoft Windows compatibility provided by the SoftWindows system, which comes along with the computer, is laughable. But, unless an application is recompiled specifically for the Power Macintosh (in 'native' mode, as Apple evangelists call it), the new machines may actually run the program slower than their 68040-based Quadra and Centris counterparts. The new machines run virtually all popular Macintosh software packages without a hitch. This is a RISC (reduced instruction set computing) microprocessor that claims to yield 'two to four times the performance of today's Intel 1486 and Motorola 680x0-based personal computers,' according to an Apple press release.

While the Power Macintosh desktop is functionally identical to that of the typical Motorola 68040-based Mac, under the hood the new series is fueled by the PowerPC 601. Without question, these machines are fast. At Apple's recent Seybold Seminars exhibition in Boston I got a chance to kick the machines' tires and take a test drive to see the new 'power' for myself. On March 14, Apple Computer unveiled the Power Macintosh series of personal computers, the first fruit of its 1991 alliance with IBM and Motorola.

Mac 68040 emulator