Mini vMac is a 68k Mac Plus emulator available for a surprising number of platforms (including your iPhone), supporting Mac System Software version 1 up through 7.5.5. Here are some of the more popular emulators for running vintage Mac software: After some configuration and training we were in business: the software ran super fast, my client was very relieved, and the Quadras can now enter their long deserved retirement. My client then purchased a modern Mac and we transferred the setup to his system.
Using Basilisk II configured to emulate a Quadra running System 7.5.3, I was able to install a copy of Imagic and verify it worked. So for over two decades he has been juggling a small stable of Quadras to run this software, which got older and more finicky over time.Īt wits end with failing hardware, he asked me about alternatives. He had created many custom macros to process the data, but the application was long abandoned and would only run on 68k based Macs. My client was using an early 1990s graphics program called Imagic to process satellite weather maps. A side benefit is that old software usually runs much faster on the more current hardware.Ī recent job at the Mac Museum proved the usefulness of emulators again. The emulator is a shell, a “software computer” that interfaces the two and provides a mechanism to interchange files between environments. An emulator allows users to run software designed for one computer environment and processor inside a host system with a different kind of processor. Vintage computers are getting harder to maintain, or no longer exist, consigning old software to the digital graveyard.Įmulation is a solution for this problem. But with the passage of time running classic software on original hardware becomes more difficult. This may be for historical reasons, for performing current work, or just to play old games. If you don’t have a webcam and simply want to see your friend’s Snaps or Stories, click the Cancel button when a pop-up notifies you to connect a camera.Part of keeping our digital heritage alive is the ability to run software from years past. Add fun filters to your photos before sharing, send messages to friends (with fun emojis), click or tap Discover to explore hand-crafted Stories from top publishers in the world, or view Memories, a personal collection of your favorite Snaps and Stories.
Now that you’re in Snapchat, you can view your friend’s Snaps or send one if you have an internal or external webcam (required) on your Windows PC or Mac.
Search for and download Snapchat, and then sign into your Snapchat account, as you would on an iOS or Android device. Therefore, you’re limited to using an Android emulator like the above mentioned BlueStacks, which is free and easy to use, or consider another free emulator like AndyOS (), which also works on both Windows and Mac.Īfter you’ve downloaded and installed an emulator, sign into your Google account, and then click or tap to go to the Google Play store.
Unlike Instagram, there is no viewer that lets you see your feeds, nor is there a Windows 10 app for Snapchat like there is for Instagram (as limited as it is).
You can also add filters, share multiple photos and videos to your story (and jazz them up with text and drawing tools), see what your friends are sharing, post comments, send disappearing media and words to others (through Instagram Direct), and more.
Now sign into the Instagram app with the same ID and password as your mobile phone, and you can take a photo or shoot a video – via your webcam – and post it to your feed. After you download and install the 300MB BlueStacks (), sign in with your Google ID and then click on the Google Play store icon to search for and download Instagram. In fact, the Android operating system doesn’t even know it’s being run on a computer. Instead, to give you the mobile Instagram experience you know and love – while sitting at a computer during the 9-to-5 grind - download the free BlueStacks, an Android emulator for PC and Mac, which lets you run Instagram and other Google Play apps on your laptop or desktop. Similarly, PC users can download the official Instagram app for free from the Windows Store, but posting and editing photos is only available for tablets and PCs with touchscreens and backward-facing cameras. But be forewarned this is a half-baked experience as you can’t post photos or videos. With Instagram, you can go to the Instagram website (), sign in with your Instagram ID, and view photos of your feed. There are, in fact, a couple of ways you can access these smartphone-centric social media sites on your Windows PC or Mac. If it’s a mobile-focused platform like Instagram or Snapchat, however, you’re out of luck. You’re typing away on your computer most of the day - perhaps while at the office or school – and you want to check in on your favorite social network.