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Windows NT for Power Macintosh

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Re: Windows NT for Power Macintosh

#12

Post by FMecha »

nullindividual wrote: post #9
TickleSteve wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isnt an x86 emulator that can run a DOS box, this is NT running natively on PPC. So... no DOS games I'm afraid.

Macintosh PowerPC. NT4 was already compatible with PowerPC systems. The support ended with NT4 Service Pack 2; no further SPs had PPC support.

Because desktop PowerPC was unpopular for anything other than Mac, and PPC NT wasn't designed for Open Firmware. Though you can blame Microsoft's monopoly tactics - in which loyalty to x86 was the prime directive, alternative OSes on PPC Macs were not a widely accepted idea either - people stuck around with classic Mac OS, in (ultimately) vain hopes that Copland/Taligent would deliver.

Re: Windows NT for Power Macintosh

#14

Post by Narishma »

TickleSteve wrote: post #7
fny wrote: post #3

Very, very cool, and I can't wait to relive giving up all my DOS games!

This isnt an x86 emulator that can run a DOS box, this is NT running natively on PPC. So... no DOS games I'm afraid.

You misread the comment. They don't want to run DOS games, they want to relive the inability to run them when switching to Windows NT.

Re: Windows NT for Power Macintosh

#18

Post by duffyjp »

nullindividual wrote: post #9
TickleSteve wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isnt an x86 emulator that can run a DOS box, this is NT running natively on PPC. So... no DOS games I'm afraid.

Macintosh PowerPC. NT4 was already compatible with PowerPC systems. The support ended with NT4 Service Pack 2; no further SPs had PPC support.

Someone gave me an NT4 CD when I was a kid and on the jewel case it said it supported x86, PPC, I think some other architectures too. I was disappointed I could never get our PowerMac to boot from it. :P

Re: Windows NT for Power Macintosh

#19

Post by nullindividual »

FMecha wrote: post #12
nullindividual wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Macintosh PowerPC. NT4 was already compatible with PowerPC systems. The support ended with NT4 Service Pack 2; no further SPs had PPC support.

Because desktop PowerPC was unpopular for anything other than Mac, and PPC NT wasn't designed for Open Firmware. Though you can blame Microsoft's monopoly tactics - in which loyalty to x86 was the prime directive, alternative OSes on PPC Macs were not a widely accepted idea either - people stuck around with classic Mac OS, in (ultimately) vain hopes that Copland/Taligent would deliver.

Where are you getting this information?

The PReP/CHRP was a venture by Apple, IBM, and Motorola (but primarily IBM) to allow companies to build OSes for a common platform. Apple didn't want to participate in the end. But like other ports of NT to MIPS and Alpha (Alpha enjoyed much more support until Compaq dropped support), the popularity was well beneath the dirt cheap in comparison x86 platform.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerPC_Reference_Platform

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Hardware_Reference_Plat...

This had nothing to do with Microsoft's monopoly. And nothing to do with exclusively 'desktop' PPC -- remember, NT4 Server also had PPC support through SP2. IBM's intention was for servers, not desktops (though they did produce compatible laptops/desktops), to support operating systems such as AIX and S[l]o[w|l]aris

AIX isn't exactly a desktop OS.

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