Linking worlds: the Mac meets the PC

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 1990 by Jonathan Jacobs, Sharon Schanzer

Integrating Macs and PCs into the editorial environment is no longer a luxury, but a practical necessity. Art department personnel generally prefer the graphics-based Mac for page layout, image manipulation and type design, while writers and editors often prefer IBM-compatible PCs for word processing, spreadsheets and other character-based applications.

Traditional wisdom has it, however, that the Macintosh and the IBM-compatible PC cannot comfortably coexist. Yet without the ability to transfer and reformat data easily between these two systems, information can't be shared.

The good news is that several developments over the past few years have made sharing data simply a matter of careful planning, rather than technical gymnastics.

Sharing information between the two systems requires that data be physically transferred from one machine to another, and sometimes converted as well. Some software programs make it easy: They don't require conversion between versions available for both the Mac and PC. These programs include WordPerfect, PageMaker, Foxbase and Excel.

Data transfer hardware

Several basic methods can be used to transfer information between a Mac and a PC: compatible disk or tape drives, serial or parallel port-based connections, local area networks (LANs) and emulation systems.

Compatible drives. Floppy disk drives that read, write and format both Mac and MS-DOS disks are particularly popular and simple devices for data transfer. Often called "Sneaker Net," this method relies on staff members walking around to move floppies farther along the production process.

The FDHD 3.5-inch disk drive, standard in the Mac SE/30 and Mac II family, can read, write and format 3.5-inch MS-DOS disks. Apple also sells the PC 5.25-inch disk drive. One consideration: Accessing MS-DOS disks requires using the Apple File Exchange (AFE) utility software-included with the Mac, but an added nuisance. One solution is a third-party program called DOS Mounter. It dispenses with the need to call AFE explicitly, permitting Mac applications to read and write MS-DOS disks directly.

For PCs, the Copy II PC Deluxe Option Board allows a PC with a 3.5-inch disk drive to read, write and format Mac disks.

When large amounts of data must be transferred, a tape back-up or a removable hard drive (like the Bernoulli Box) that uses the same format for both Mac and PC can be used. Data from one machine can be written to the drive, which is then moved to another machine, where the data are read. Several companies, including Archive, Irwin Magnetics and Tecmar, offer cross-compatible units.

Port-based connections. A second method of data transferal requires a null modem cable, or a modem, and a communication program. A null modem cable permits the serial ports of two computers to be connected directly. When computers are located too far apart to string a cable between them, a modem permits data to be sent via telephone lines to a remote computer or routed through a system such as MCI Mail.

Local area networks. The most seamless path to integration involves a LAN (Local Area Network, the direct, permanent interconnection of several computers). The LAN facilitates data sharing and storage, file control and tracking, and group access to such peripherals as printers, modems and back-up units. Only certain LANs, such as Novell Netware (version 2.15 and above), 3Com 3 and TOPS, support both Macs and PCs on the same network.

Data conversion

Not only must data be transferred, data must arrive in a usable format. There are three popular approaches to conversion.

Standard formats. Data from similar applications can be converted into an intermediate "standard" format acceptable to both the Mac and PC. Such standards include ASCII and DCA-RFT for word processing, TIFF for halftone images and PostScript for line art. Although a few such de facto standards exist, a single format for data from each type of application has not yet been agreed upon. ASCII is very common for text, but does not offer provisions for formatting or style commands. DCA-RFT is less common, but does support formatting commands.

Data translation. A second approach involves data translation programs. Data in the unique format of one application is converted directly into the format of another.

AFE performs limited data conversion. If a publication's data transfer/translation needs are basic, such as simply converting from DCA-RFT on a PC to MacWrite, this may be the only software needed.

One of the most widely used and versatile data transfer/translation products

is MacLinkPlus. MacLinkPius includes a null modem cable to connect a PC with a Mac through the serial port, communication software for the Mac and PC and a copy of the data conversion program MacLinkPlus/Translators. Transfer and translation occur in one step. Alternatively, MacLinkPlus/Translators can be purchased separately for use with any other data transfer option, such as an MSDOS disk drive for the Mac.

Built-in solutions. The third solution is the trend toward built-in accommodation of increasingly varied data formats. If enough applications accept an adequate number of different data formats, separate data conversion programs will become unnecessary.