<s>
MagiC	O
is	O
a	O
third	O
party	O
and	O
now	O
open-sourced	O
multitasking-capable	O
TOS-compatible	O
operating	O
system	O
for	O
Atari	O
computers	O
,	O
including	O
some	O
newer	O
clone	O
systems	O
manufactured	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
variants	O
that	O
run	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Mac	O
and	O
PC	O
emulation	O
environments	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
on	O
macOS	B-Application
Intel-Mac	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
of	O
MagiC	O
is	O
largely	O
written	O
in	O
hand-coded	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
for	O
Motorola	B-Device
68000	I-Device
,	O
and	O
offers	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Magic-Mac	O
and	O
Magic-PC	O
variants	O
only	O
run	O
under	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
and	O
Microsoft	O
Windows	O
respectively	O
,	O
not	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
TOS	B-Application
featured	O
only	O
limited	O
multitasking	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
desk	O
accessory	O
programs	O
,	O
simple	O
programs	O
accessed	O
from	O
the	O
"	O
Desk	O
"	O
menu	O
and	O
that	O
multitasked	O
using	O
cooperative	O
task	O
switching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
MagiC	O
offered	O
preemptive	O
multitasking	O
,	O
giving	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
run	O
multiple	O
(	O
well-behaved	O
)	O
GEM	B-Application
applications	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
non-graphical	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
series	O
the	O
Atari	O
STE	O
and	O
Atari	O
TT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
changed	O
from	O
Mag	O
!	O
X	O
to	O
MagiC	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
version	O
3.0	O
,	O
which	O
added	O
many	O
improvements	O
and	O
a	O
significant	O
amount	O
of	O
MiNT	B-Application
compatibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
4.0	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
Falcon	I-Device
,	O
and	O
finally	O
in	O
1995	O
version	O
5.0	O
brought	O
the	O
significant	O
addition	O
of	O
loadable	O
file	O
system	O
support	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
an	O
implementation	O
of	O
VFAT	B-Application
with	O
long	O
file	O
names	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
improvements	O
to	O
the	O
GEMDOS	O
layer	O
including	O
threads	O
and	O
signals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
include	O
significant	O
enhancements	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
support	O
for	O
FAT32	O
,	O
increased	O
MiNT	B-Application
compatibility	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
newer	O
processors	O
and	O
hardware	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
clone	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
was	O
slow	O
to	O
improve	O
the	O
hardware	O
of	O
its	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
mid	O
-	O
to	O
late	O
1990s	O
it	O
was	O
apparent	O
that	O
the	O
Apple	O
Macintosh	B-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
and	O
some	O
clones	O
by	O
other	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
were	O
a	O
superior	O
hardware	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
in	O
1994	O
a	O
variant	O
of	O
MagiC	O
known	O
as	O
MagiCMac	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
allowing	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
users	O
to	O
run	O
their	O
software	O
on	O
modern	O
Mac	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
first	O
MagiCMac	O
was	O
offered	O
for	O
Macs	O
with	O
Motorola	B-Device
680x0	I-Device
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
PPC	O
CPUs	O
followed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
releases	O
offered	O
improved	O
integration	O
with	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
and	O
allowed	O
well-behaved	O
Atari	O
software	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
native	O
graphics	O
modes	O
offered	O
by	O
the	O
host	O
machine	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
emulations	O
of	O
the	O
standard	O
Atari	O
screen	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
6.2	O
is	O
the	O
latest	O
for	O
machines	O
with	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
classic	I-Application
(	O
up	O
to	O
version	O
9.2	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
introduction	O
of	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
on	O
newer	O
PowerMacs	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
MagiC-Mac	O
would	O
no	O
longer	O
run	O
as	O
it	O
operated	O
at	O
a	O
low	O
level	O
within	O
the	O
former	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
classic	I-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newer	O
OS	O
X	O
versions	O
have	O
no	O
system-wide	O
emulation	O
layer	O
for	O
Motorola	B-Device
680x0	I-Device
code	O
included	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
the	O
case	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
itself	O
is	O
a	O
"	O
Carbon	O
"	O
program	O
;	O
it	O
did	O
run	O
under	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
only	O
,	O
not	O
with	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
9.x	O
or	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Classic	O
Environment	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
maximise	O
effectiveness	O
it	O
contained	O
improved	O
code	O
,	O
and	O
integrated	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
Asgard68k	O
emulator	O
written	O
in	O
hand-optimised	O
PPC	O
assembler	B-Language
(	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
MESS	O
and	O
MAME	B-Device
projects	O
)	O
,	O
to	O
reach	O
high	O
emulation	O
speeds	O
on	O
machines	O
with	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
(	O
typically	O
PowerPC	B-General_Concept
G4	I-General_Concept
and	O
G5	O
Macs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MagiC-Mac	O
X	O
was	O
updated	O
in	O
2004	O
and	O
2009	O
,	O
becoming	O
a	O
"	O
Universal	B-Operating_System
Binary	I-Operating_System
"	O
and	O
running	O
natively	O
on	O
both	O
older	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
Macs	O
and	O
newer	O
Macs	O
with	O
Intel	O
processors	O
under	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
(	O
version	O
10.4	O
"	O
Tiger	O
"	O
to	O
10.6	O
"	O
Snow	O
Leopard	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
2.0	O
is	O
the	O
latest	O
for	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
summer	O
1996	O
the	O
version	O
MagiC-PC	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
now	O
allowing	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
users	O
to	O
run	O
their	O
software	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
based	O
Windows	O
9x	O
to	O
ME	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
under	O
more	O
modern	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
4	O
to	O
XP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Networking	O
access	O
and	O
printing	O
via	O
Windows	O
and	O
Novell	B-Operating_System
NetWare	I-Operating_System
was	O
provided	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
System	O
requirements	O
for	O
emulating	O
an	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
or	O
STE	O
system	O
were	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
speed	O
similar	O
to	O
an	O
Atari	B-Device
Falcon	I-Device
system	O
(	O
with	O
Motorola	O
68030	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
alternative	O
to	O
MagiC-PC	O
is	O
Hatari	B-Application
,	O
especially	O
under	O
other	O
free	O
operating	O
systems	O
like	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
program	O
is	O
written	O
in	O
plain	O
C	O
,	O
using	O
SDL	B-Operating_System
libs	O
and	O
in	O
part	O
UAE	B-Device
(	O
emulator	O
)	O
for	O
multimedia	O
and	O
hardware	O
,	O
it	O
requires	O
quite	O
performant	O
processors	O
(	O
over	O
1GHz	O
for	O
Atari	O
ST/STE	O
emulation	O
,	O
over	O
2GHz	O
for	O
Atari	B-Device
Falcon	I-Device
emulation	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
faster	O
program	O
execution	O
the	O
machine	O
should	O
be	O
at	O
least	O
of	O
the	O
Pentium	B-General_Concept
4	I-General_Concept
or	O
Athlon	O
XP	O
class	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
integrates	O
in	O
part	O
the	O
Musashi	O
68k	B-Device
emulator	O
written	O
in	O
plain	O
C	O
.	O
AtariX	O
is	O
not	O
as	O
optimised	O
as	O
its	O
predecessor	O
once	O
was	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
code	O
written	O
in	O
C	O
makes	O
it	O
more	O
portable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
it	O
will	O
not	O
reach	O
the	O
emulation	O
speeds	O
the	O
former	O
software	O
had	O
,	O
but	O
AtariX	O
is	O
aimed	O
to	O
run	O
under	O
more	O
modern	O
macOS	B-Application
(	O
up	O
to	O
version	O
10.13	O
"	O
High	O
Sierra	O
"	O
at	O
least	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Intel-only	O
Mac	O
systems	O
with	O
more	O
performant	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
stand-alone	O
version	O
5.02/5.03	O
of	O
NVDI	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
,	O
worked	O
with	O
standard	O
Atari	B-Application
TOS	I-Application
,	I-Application
MagiC	O
for	O
Atari	O
,	O
MagiC-PC	O
,	O
MagiC-Mac	O
,	O
and	O
extra	O
graphics	O
cards	O
for	O
Ataris	O
(	O
ET	O
4000	O
,	O
Matrix	O
MatGraph	O
,	O
Computerinsel	O
NOVA	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NVDI	O
offered	O
highly	O
optimised	O
graphics	O
routines	O
in	O
Atari	O
environment	O
(	O
TOS	B-Application
or	O
MagiC	O
)	O
,	O
emulation	O
speed	O
is	O
raised	O
under	O
Windows	O
and	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
via	O
Magic-PC	O
and	O
Magic-Mac	O
by	O
mapping	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	O
VDI	O
calls	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
the	O
host	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	O
this	O
is	O
done	O
using	O
GDI	B-Operating_System
calls	O
,	O
using	O
native	O
PC	O
code	O
for	O
these	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
functionality	O
and	O
higher	O
speed	O
for	O
graphics	O
was	O
provided	O
with	O
MagiC-Mac	O
,	O
using	O
QuickDraw	B-Operating_System
calls	O
in	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NVDI	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
millions	O
of	O
colours	O
,	O
for	O
text	O
on	O
screen	O
it	O
supports	O
Bitstream	O
Speedo	O
Fonts	O
,	O
TrueType	O
and	O
PostScript	B-Language
fonts	O
installed	O
on	O
Windows	O
and	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
and	O
features	O
modernised	O
printing	O
capabilities	O
via	O
GDOS	O
for	O
programs	O
,	O
run	O
natively	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	O
and	O
in	O
emulation	O
on	O
PC	O
and	O
Mac	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MagiC	O
's	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
GEM	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
was	O
greatly	O
enhanced	O
over	O
the	O
version	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
TOS	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
GEM	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
,	O
MagiC	O
Desk	O
was	O
not	O
built	O
into	O
MagiC	O
but	O
instead	O
could	O
be	O
launched	O
as	O
an	O
application	O
at	O
startup	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
start	O
MagiC	O
with	O
another	O
shell	B-Operating_System
when	O
wished	O
(	O
popular	O
alternative	O
shells	O
including	O
Jinnee	O
and	O
Thing	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
