** 1 page review / 833 words **

A little bit of NoSTalgia

Mark Wherry takes a look at Mac Atari emulation...

** NOSTALGA.GIF here
** ABOUT.GIF here (overlapped if you like)

After writing the review of MagiCMac in AC10, I came across an alternative 
way of achieving a similar result, with a project called NoSTalgia. Our 
machines have become something of a cult machine and you can't have 
escaped the number of Atari emulators available for Intel-based machines. 
In the same tradition comes NoSTalgia.

Previously MagiCMac has been the only option for MacOS immigrants, and 
although it runs most cleanly written GEM software it's not an emulator, 
but an implementation of the MagiC OS on the MacOS. On the other hand 
NoSTalgia is an Atari ST emulator and as such is capable of running both 
GEM software and most of the classic Atari games.

Like other software only emulators, NoSTalgia needs a copy of the Atari 
operating system on disk to run and won't do anything without one 
installed. A utility program is available to extract the TOS image from 
your real ST's ROM. Neither myself nor Atari Computing condones the use of 
TOS images from other sources.

Unlike MagiCMac, NoSTalgia does not run on 68k Macs, and requires a Power 
Macintosh, the faster the better. On Apple's current G3 models, NoSTalgia 
runs like a dream, but on earlier PPC models NoSTalgia is v-e-r-y slow. 
Compare the GEMBench results for MagiCMac and NoSTalgia on my G3 and 
you'll see the difference - but it's still running much faster than the 
real thing.

** GB_COMP.GIF here

Technically speaking NoSTalgia is an Atari ST emulator. The 68000 
processor is emulated and, just like the real thing, there's a 4Mb memory 
limit. The serial port is not currently emulated at all, but the printer 
port is compatible, although, as with MagiCMac, drivers are likely to be a 
problem.

** NEO_S.GIF here
** caption **
Although it's beyond the scope of this review both Neodesk and MagiC 
reportedly run under NoSTalgia
** /caption **

NoSTalgia can display the ST environment in a Mac window or on a full 
screen, although the window option will be best for users with large 
monitors because the maximum resolution supported is currently ST-High. 
There is a neat function which is especially useful with ST-Low to double 
the pixel size, which makes large monitor visibility much better. There 
are several display methods, including support for Apple's QuickDraw 
technology, which although slower, will be more compatible with future 
versions of the MacOS.

I criticised MagiCMac's lack of music support, so I was delighted to find 
NoSTalgia had already implemented some of the features I suggested, namely 
OMS and Quicktime support. Opcode's Open MIDI System can be used to 
communicate with external MIDI in and out hardware, and the Quicktime 
internal Roland-based software synthesizer can be harnessed for MIDI 
output. These features are brilliant, and as if this wasn't enough, even 
the Yamaha sound chip is emulated - although whether this is a good thing 
or not, is debatable!

Disk support is the area that lets this emulator down most. Floppy disks 
are not supported directly - they must be virtually mounted by storing the 
contents of each disk as an image. MagiC Shadow Archiver (MSA) files are 
recognised, and a utility called DuST is also provided to do the same job, 
although I could not get the DuST archives to work successfully, I had no 
problems with the MSA files. Although a virtual hard drive can be created, 
the maximum size for this is 20Mb which certainly limits its usefulness.

Although NoSTalgia is slow compared to MagiCMac its ability to run TOS 
offers a useful testing environment and if you're into music you'll be 
able to use some of your favourite Atari music apps and check out the 
latest range of Electronic Cow music software.

NoSTalgia is a wonderful project, and the fact that the author has 
involved other programmers for parts of the system has led to some really 
useful features, including the music support. Despite my criticisms, do 
bear in mind NoSTalgia is freeware and still in the early stages of 
development. Recently, Philippe has launched a parallel shareware project 
called PowerST which, if everything comes together, will definitely be one 
to watch for. As it stands, if you have access to a fast Mac, get hold of 
a copy of NoSTalgia and soak up some nostalgia - you will not be 
disappointed.

** product boxout **
NoSTalgia v0.52

Author
G‚rin Philippe

Contact
Email: ph.gerin@skynet.be
NoSTalgia home page: http://users.skynet.be/sky39147/
Mirror site: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Haven/3557/

Cost/Status
Freeware
PowerST is shareware, registration costs $25 (around œ15)

Required
Power PC, the faster the better, with 4.5Mb free memory and 256 colour 
display. Additionally Quicktime 2.5 and OMS are needed for the muso 
features.

Pros
TOS emulation on the Mac, sound chip and MIDI support

Cons
Really does needs a fast PowerMac, no 68K Mac support, no direct disk 
handling

Rating 74%
** /product boxout **

** Images
** XENON2.GIF