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Apple invades IBM turf; 3270 emulation may boost Mac acceptance - Simware Inc.'s Mac3270 emulation package

Software Magazine, Feb, 1988 by John Desmond

Apple Invades IBM Turf

3270 emulation may

boost Mac acceptance

If the Apple Macintosh personal computer expects to extend its reach into corporate America, connectivity to IBM mainframes will play a large part.

For example, Motorola has some 7,000 to 8,000 Macintoshes installed, versus some 11,000 IBM PCs. Because Motorola is an international, multinational company, operating on every continent of the world, the firm has a dire need for effective communication.

"We have been installing Macs in large numbers because they provide a productive boost in computing," says Brian Carlson, a manager of end-user computing for Motorola in Chicago. "But there was a major problem. We have an IBM backbone network, and there was no way to send a Mac file over our network."

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Carlson believes that latent demand for Macintoshes could be freed up by the ability to link it to IBM networks. "Apple is weak on IBM connectivity and this product helps eliminate that problem," he said.

Simware, Inc. of Ottawa, which produces software-only micro-to-IBM host connectivity solutions, was approached by Apple in September 1986, about building a product that would allow a Macintosh to emulate an IBM 3270 terminal. Last April, Simware agreed to develop the product. The agreement forbids Simware from saying whether Apple financed any of the development.

The product, Mac3270, has been completed and is available now. But when Simware started to work on the project, "We didn't know squat about the Mac," said Lew Shepherdson, VP of technology.

The company maintains it is the first product to allow the Mac to provide remote 3270 emulation; it does so over dial-up lines.

The experience of creating the product, which features a Mac-like interface while emulating an IBM terminal, has positioned the company for developing products under Presentation Manager in the OS/2 environment. "Doing the windows and graphical interfaces was excellent training," Shepherdson said, adding that Apple technicians were "rigorous and demanding" about preserving the Mac lookalike interface in Mac3270.

To a developer who specializes in IBM host communication software, the human interface guideline that Apple enforces is an unusual approach. "The concept is basic and the (IBM) PC world just doesn't have it, at least in this pre-SAA world," Shepherdson said. He added one caveat: "the Apple interface guideline does tend to push against the lowest common denominator."

Carlson said the Mac3270 package allows Mac files to be transported to another Mac anywhere in the world over the IBM network, using voice-grade lines. People using the Mac at home can also log onto mainframe applications, Carlson said.

Technology Industry

Apple invades IBM turf; 3270 emulation may boost Mac acceptance - Simware Inc.'s Mac3270 emulation package

Software Magazine, Feb, 1988 by John Desmond

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