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What Are Emulators?
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What are emulators?

Emulation is the act of having one computer behave as another. For clarification; Wintels (PC's), Macs, video game consoles, calculators, and arcade machines all qualify as computers. This means that a computer can run the same software with the same appearance as the original hardware. This also allows a computer to use its own hardware to emulate the hardware of the original. This hardware includes keyboards, joysticks, monitors, speakers, and disk drives. Naturally, a computer must be technologically superior to the hardware that it attempts to emulate. For example, don't expect to see a 66 MHz PC emulating a Nintendo64, (I orignally wrote this in the Summer of 1997) or an Atari 8-bit computer emulating a Super Nintendo. In short, emulation is not only an educational and facinating aspect of computing, it can also be a convenient way to relive the days of yesteryear.

Emulation is achieved through software known as emulators. An emulator is a program that imitates the hardware procedures of one computer, so that they may be acted out on another. This requires tons of technical information on whatever piece of hardware is being emulated. This includes info about the main processor, graphic modes, and sound methods, among other things. These emulators are available all over the net, invoking nostalgia and creating an internet sub-culture. While many emulators are freeware, some are shareware, requiring you to pay a fee (usually $35 or less) to un-cripple the demo version. Even though many are opposed to this principle, always remember that writing an emulator, like any other extensive program, takes loads of hard work, time, research, and patience.