Affordable utility lets Windows users read and write Mac disks
John Rizzo
Rating: Very Good/Acceptable (3.5 of 5 mice)
It's easy for Mac users to insert a DOS-formatted floppy disk or CD-ROM and have it mount on the desktop. When Windows users try to do the same with Macintosh disks, they get an error message. This reinforces the myth that Macs are incompatible and out of place among PCs.
To help keep your Macs on an equal footing, you can furnish PC users with software that gives Windows users the same cross-platform ability Mac users get with System 7's PC Exchange. The newest such utility is Optima Technology's XChange for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. XChange scores some points against its chief competitor, MacOpener from DataViz (the developer of PC Exchange), but is not as easy to use.
XChange enables PCs to read Mac CD-ROM discs and to read, write, and format Mac HFS (hierarchical file structure) disks of all types. These include floppies, removable cartridges, and even Mac hard disks, provided the PC has an ASPI-compatible SCSI card and ASPI-compatible drivers. MacOpener can do all this as well, but XChange has the added ability to read CD-recordable (CD-R) discs recorded with Optima's CD-R Access for Mac and to read Mac tapes recorded with the company's DeskTape software. Neither XChange nor MacOpener translates files; for a Windows user to use data that's on a Mac disk, it must be in a format a PC application can read.
XChange does a good job handling the differences in filenaming conventions among the Mac OS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95. It displays full Mac filenames of up to 32 characters in both environments, despite Windows 3.1's "eight-dot-three" filenaming convention and Windows 95's ban on certain characters, such as forward slash, that the Mac OS permits in filenames. XChange reads the Type and Creator info embedded in a Mac file and automatically creates the appropriate PC extension, such as .DOC for Word files.
The PC user accesses Mac files and formats Mac disks from within the XChange application. Unfortunately, XChange forgoes Windows 95's simple drag-and-drop interface and instead offers an interface for moving files that recalls Windows 3.x's File Manager, but without File Manager's convenient Copy command. Inside the XChange window, you open one window for the Mac disk directory and another for the PC disk's and then drag files from one window to the other. If you're moving a file to a Windows disk, a dialog box pops up and asks how you want to rename the file. This process works pretty well, but it's far from effortless.
The Bottom Line
XChange and MacOpener are the two most full-featured products that enable Windows PCs to use Mac disks. However, XChange isn't as easy to use as MacOpener and can't preview text and graphics files, as MacOpener can. XChange is the less expensive of the two (MacOpener costs $75), and its CD-R and tape functionality will come in handy for some users. Otherwise, the nod goes to MacOpener.
XChange for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 1.0, $49 (estimated street). Company: Optima Technology, Irvine CA; 800-411-4237 or 714-476-0515; http://www.optimatech.com/optima/. Reader Service: Circle #420.
