It's an interesting project:

https://launchpad.net/graybox/

Nice find. Have you tried compiling/running the thing?

Best,
Cat_7

Hi,

Contrary to the remarks on http://www.dejamac.com/software/macdraw/ MacDraw runs fine on my Intel Mac.
There is even a poll on which other application should be ported to OSX next.
Choices are:
-The Finder
-Hypercard
-Word 5.1
-Dark Castle

Make your choice!

Best,
Cat_7

I gather that this is a ROM-less, OS-less thing?

Like Executor?

Yes,

No rom needed, nothing. Just the one application in it's own window with limited interaction with the host. Also no desktop. But if the finder is ported using this method, that might change.

Best,
Cat_7

Observation sent by e-mail: Graybox actually does include a ROM image, contained in a file called "Sosumi."

Ah: so, sue me.

Could it be that the MacDraw example that can be downloaded is using the MiniVMac extras to achieve its magic? http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/extras/index.html
I don't know for sure, I might be wrong.

Best,
Cat_7

Apparently Graybox has very little to do with Mini vMac, despite what the site suggests. It only uses a small bit of Mini vMac code.

The site just says that it "uses Mini vMac's M68K emulator", which is exactly what it does. (The emulation of the 68000 processor, which is a fairly small part of Mini vMac.) There is no other connection with Mini vMac. Also, GrayBox is not much like Executor. As the site says, it takes the same approach as Apple's "Classic" environment. It makes full use of the software from the older operating system, but extensively modifies it so that the old application is tightly integrated into the modern operating system.

Not much attentions has been paid to copyright law, but none the less it is impressive work. The copyright issues could be fixed by letting the user supply their own copy of the old application, ROM, and system software, as other emulators do.

This'll be awesome later on when I finally get a mac!

What do you mean 'sosumi' is the ROM file!? Sosumi is a sound file for the Macintosh! Are you sure that freaking thing is the ROM!?

Yes. "MacDraw.app/Contents/Resources/Sosumi" is version 3 of the Macintosh Plus ROM.

I suppose the file is named "Sosumi" to hide the fact that it is a ROM file.

Yes, and an allusion to the old story about macs not being allowed to produce sound. So when Apple deceided to break that agreement, they called the very first sound file "sosumi", phonetically equivalent to "so, sue me" for using sound.



Cat_7