One significant benefit of the MAE is its ability to run off-the-shelf Macintosh applications. But equally important is the seamless integration MAE provides you between the Macintosh and UNIX environment.
Of course you can use MAE to completely manage your Macintosh applications, folders and files. However, you can also use MAE to perform functions on your UNIX directories, files, applications and manage system services such as printers file servers, even over the network-all with the same intuitive, easy-to-use Macintosh style interface.
Benefits of MAE
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MAE maximizes the efficiency of the UNIX user by supporting simple navigation and management of both Macintosh and UNIX file systems, and by providing:
Enhanced productivity through shrink wrap Macintosh applications. MAE supports most productivity applications and tools long enjoyed by users of the Mac OS. In fact, MAE supports more of these applications than any competing technology.
Copy-and-paste of text and graphics. Lets you transfer text and graphics between MAE and other X Windows via the copy-and-paste tools in the MAE Toolbar.
Drag-and-drop UNIX command execution. To execute UNIX commands, the user merely "drags" the icon of a file or directory and "drops" it onto the icon of a UNIX command. For example, if you drag the icon of a directory to the ls icon, the X window displays a list of the files in that directory.
Support for NFS and AFS. MAE supports both NFS and AFS (Andrew File System 2.4) to provide access to the highly distributed file systems typical of workstation environments. NFS/AFS support lets you easily access appropriate files within these environments through the Finder.
New features of MAE version 2.0
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New features of MAE version 2.0 provide the following additional benefits.
AppleTalk for MAE. System administrators can now help users gain access to network resources more easily using AppleTalk networking capabilities. With the AppleTalk protocol, designed and developed by Apple Computer, users have a simple method to access printers, file servers, or other AppleTalk-enabled computers on the network using the Chooser.
Improved speed and performance in a smaller amount of memory. MAE v2.0 takes advantage of two technological breakthroughs -- dynamic compilation and code block templates -- to obtain optimal emulator performance while consuming a minimal amount of memory. These techniques reduce system overhead and increase speed by letting MAE identify sections of Mac OS and applications code that are translated to native code, and run directly as native code on the underlying RISC architecture.
MacTCP support. MacTCP is the Macintosh implementation of the TCP/IP networking protocol, which gives users access to the Internet as well as TCP/IP-based utilities such as Fetch and Telnet.
NOTE: Fetch 3.0 and higher will not work with MAE 2.0.2, use version 2.x.x.
Sound Manager. Controlled by the Sound control panel, the MAE Sound Manager supports all standard sounds supported by a Macintosh computer.
Dynamically resizable MAE window. Users can dynamically resize the MAE window using the Monitors control panel in MAE or the workstation's X Window size controls.
Finder Window Update. Finder Window Update helps to reduce MAE overhead on the host system (for additional details, please see the section entitled Configuring MAE for the UNIX Environment).
Cycle saving via Processor Slowdown. Processor Slowdown also helps to reduce MAE overhead on the host UNIX system (for additional details, please see the section entitled Configuring MAE for the UNIX Environment).
Temporary Installer Volume (TIV). TIV is a utility that facilitates installation of Macintosh productivity applications in the UNIX host system (for additional details, please see the section entitled Configuring MAE for the UNIX Environment).
NFS Heartbeat. An important enhancement for improved NFS robustness, NFS Heartbeat provides a mechanism by which to break out of "hung" network system calls. These calls can hang when MAE attempts to access an inaccessible NFS-based file server.
Productivity features from Macintosh System 7.5. MAE 2.0 enhancements from System 7.5 include:
- Launcher. The Launcher control panel lets users launch an application with a single click of a mouse button by selecting from lists of the most frequently used applications.
- Stickies. Allows users to create electronic "sticky notes" and place them anywhere in the MAE window.
- Improved desktop patterns. The Desktop Patterns control panel has been expanded to provide more colorful and textured Desktop patterns. Users can also create their own custom Desktop patterns by copying and pasting graphics into the control panel.
- Find File. This expander Finder utility lets users quickly search hard disk drives or file servers for a desired file.
- WindowShade. Allows users to shrink a window in MAE to just its title bar or re-expand it with two or three clicks of the mouse.
- Extension Manager. The Extension Manager control panel lets users enable or disable Macintosh control panels, extensions, and INITs in MAE.
Article Change History:
25 Jun 1996 - Updated Fetch information.
30 Jan 1996 - Completely revised this article.