Editing Basilisk II (section)

{{Short description|Open-source 68k Macintosh emulator}}
{{ infobox software
| logo                   =
| screenshot             = Basilisk snapshot9.png
| caption                = Screenshot of [[System 7|Macintosh System Software 7.5.5]] and [[Finder (software)|Finder]] running in Basilisk II
| developer              = Christian Bauer, Nigel Pearson (macOS port), Gwenole Beauchesne (JIT version)
| released               = {{Start date and age|1999}}
| latest_release_version = 1.0 R5
| latest_release_date    = {{start date and age|2006|03|01}}
| discontinued           = yes
| operating_system       = [[Cross-platform]]
| genre                  = [[Emulator]]
| license                = [[GNU General Public License]]
| website                = {{official url}}
}}

'''Basilisk II''' is an [[emulator]] which emulates [[Apple Macintosh]] computers based on the [[Motorola 68000 series]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://uk.pcmag.com/macintosh/8166/how-to-emulate-an-old-mac-on-a-new-mac-or-pc | title=How to Emulate an Old Mac on a New Mac or PC | publisher=[[PC Magazine]] | access-date=2020-05-11 | first=Sascha | last=Segan | date=23 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-run-old-software-and-games-on-your-mac | title=How to run old software and games on your Mac | publisher=[[TechRadar]] | access-date=2020-05-11 |first=Luis |last=Villazon |date=5 December 2016}}</ref>  The software is [[cross-platform software|cross-platform]] and can be used on a variety of [[operating systems]].

Christian Bauer (developer of a Mac 68k emulator ShapeShifter for [[Amiga]]) released the first version of Basilisk II in March 1999. The emulator was expected to be highly portable across several computing platforms<ref name="AR4647">{{cite magazine |last=Němec|first=Luboš |date=July–August 1999|title=Basilisk II v0.5|language=cs|magazine=Amiga Review|publisher=Atlantida Publishing|issn=1211-1465|issue=46–47|pages=36–37}}</ref>{{rp|36}} and provided some improvements in comparison to ShapeShifter - e.g. no limit for number of emulated disks, improved [[CD-ROM]] support and support for the host [[file system]].<ref name="AA6">{{cite magazine |last=Compton|first=Jason |date=March 2000|title=Basilisk II-0.8.1|url=https://archive.org/details/AmigActive_Issue_06_2000-03_Pinprint_GB/page/n13/mode/1up|magazine=AmigActive|publisher=Pinprint Publishing|issn=1467-3533|issue=6|page=26}}</ref> However, early reviews highlighted several issues like difficult configuration and limited compatibility with recommendation of ShapeShifter as a better choice for Amiga users.<ref name="AR4647"/>{{rp|37}}<ref name="AA6"/> Newer releases mitigated these problems, 2005 review of the [[MorphOS]] version noted only slow CPU emulation (in comparison to built-in 68k CPU emulation for Amiga applications in MorphOS) as a major issue.<ref name="AF55">{{cite magazine |last=Schmitz|first=Ingo|date=July–August 2005|title=Basilisk II|magazine=Amiga Future |language=de|publisher=APC&TCP|issue=55|pages=24–25}}</ref>{{rp|25}}

The latest version of [[Classic Mac OS]] that can be run within Basilisk II is Mac OS 8.1,<ref>{{cite book |last=McCallister |first=Michael |date=2006 |title=SUSE Linux 10 Unleashed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_mbgQfn3ZAC&pg=PA196 |publisher=Sams Publishing |page=196 |isbn=0672327260}}</ref> the last 680x0-compatible version, released in January 1998. Mac OS 8.5, which came out nine months later, was [[PowerPC]]-only and marked the end of Apple's 680x0 support.

[[Porting|Ports]] of Basilisk II exist for multiple [[computing platform]]s, including [[AmigaOS 4]], [[BeOS]], [[Linux]], [[Amiga]], [[Windows NT]], [[macOS]], [[MorphOS]], [[WebAssembly]], and [[mobile device]]s such as the [[PlayStation Portable]].

Released under the terms of the [[GNU General Public License]], Basilisk II is [[free software]], and its [[source code]] of is available on [[GitHub]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://github.com/cebix/macemu | title=GitHub - cebix/Macemu: Basilisk II and SheepShaver Macintosh emulators | website=[[GitHub]] | date=9 May 2020}}</ref>