This page was archived in 2023 as part of the Mac Hut archive and is no longer updated.

Most of the site pages were last updated around 2001 and some information may be out of date. Various links may be broken.

Become a patron: Support our efforts by contributing a small amount each month to cover our hosting costs and the time it takes to archive these pages properly. Thank you.


Cross Platform Compatibility

Why do I need to be compatible across platforms? - It is a fact of life, just as people think differently people use different types of computers, and there will come a time when you need to transfer information between different types of computers.

To help you out with this I have created sections which describe some methods of making your Mac compatible with different Operating Systems and vice versa. They are listed as "Macs and *", the '*' being the platform which the section provides compatibility info on.


Macs and Macs

Macs and Windows PCs

Macs and the BeOS

Macs and UN*X

What information do you provide under each section? - Each section explains specifics of being compatible between the two platforms, such as sharing disks, which really can't be explained in general for all platforms. There are topics, such as emulators, which are better discussed in general for all platforms, but they are found on this page.

What are emulators good for and where can I get one? - Emulators use software (and in expensive cases: hardware) to mimick the way another piece of hardware or software works. The reason this comes in handy when trying to be cross platform compatible is that it can allow you to emulate, let's say, a PC on your Mac so that you can run Windows or an x86 distribution of Linux. Or, you can run the MacOS on a Windows PC or under X Windows running on a UN*X operating system. It may seem that the possibilities are endless, but software emulators are very slow and hardware emulators are not really emulators, they are a whole computer put onto a card that you install in your computer that's why they are so expensive. The following is a list of emulators which I have compiled (sorted by the hardware or software that they emulate):

If you are looking for more emulators for your Mac, check out emulation.net it contains links to virtually every single emulator available for the MacOS.

If you are looking for Mac emulators for your PC, then check out emaculation.com it has links to all of the Macintosh emulators available for PCs.

I have more questions, where can I get them answered? - The links at the end of each section will provide you with sources for more answers, and you can always contact me.