NOTE: This is an OLD, ARCHIVAL version of the webpage. Please consult the NEW version, in our wiki.
Current Status
SoftMac is a free, closed-source emulator of 680x0 based Macintosh machines. It runs best in Windows XP. The current version is 8.2, available from Emulators, Inc.
Users can run OS 7.0.1 to 8.1 within the emulated Macintosh. There is a beta of SoftMac 9.0 available as a separate download.
SoftMac was previously a commercial release. While the current version (as well as the beta) is available as a free download, the developer of the emulator
has suggested that future versions will be released commercially (as was the case in the past).
History
SoftMac is developed by Emulators, Inc., a fairly old name in the Macintosh emulation field. Having outlasted its primary competitor, Microcode Solutions,
Emulators is presently the only commercial Mac emulation company.
Founded in 1987 as "Branch Always Software" by Microsoft employee Darek Mihocka with Ignac Kolenko - as Branch Always Software - the company developed several Atari, Apple and
Commodore emulators in the late 1980s. Version 1.0 of Gemulator, an Atari ST emulator for the Amiga, was released in 1992. Gemulator was also the name
of the company's first Macintosh emulator for Windows, released in 1997.
The original Gemulator for Windows release required that a Macintosh ROM card be plugged into a free ISA.
This annoyed many users of the Fusion and vMac emulators who had long downloaded illegal ROM dumps online to power their emulators.
This "problem" was corrected with the release of "Gemulator SoftMac" (later just "SoftMac") in 1999. SoftMac has been
commercially successful for many years (outlasting Fusion and ARDI's Executor as a commercial offering) but many users of online emulation discussion
boards are highly critical of difficulties with SoftMac's support of sound and networking. Mihocka's defiant attitude toward online critics has
solidified opposition to his company and products in some quarters.
The current stable release of SoftMac dates from 2002, although as noted above a beta from 2007 is currently available for public download.
Mihocka has stated that although he has accomplished and publicly demonstrated the feat of PPC emulation in Windows, he will not be developing or
releasing such an emulator at the present time.
Required Reading
Links
Official Download Page
Files
System Specs
Emulates: up to 68040
ROM Required: Yes, or use a ROM card
Memory: Unlimited
Sound: yes
Networking: yes
Mac OS supported: 7.0.1 to 8.1
Hard Drive size: Unlimited
Current Version: 8.2 / 9.0 (beta)
Creator: Darek Mihocka
Price: Free
Runs On: Windows
Screenshots
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