Speed Doubler

Box art of Japanese version.

***Speed Doubler** (スピード ダブラー 日本語版)* was a utility software package that was co-developed by Connectix and MindVision Software for Macintosh computers from Apple Computer. A Japanese version was released on floppy disk by Seiwa Systems (誠和システムズ).

## Features

The *Speed Doubler* control panel includes 3 major features. The first two support 68030 and 68040 processors, but a PowerPC processor is recommended to full advantage of all the features:

* **Faster File Copying** replaces the Macintosh Finder's copy functionality with a more efficient, multithreaded version that allowed simultaneous copies before a similar feature appeared on Mac OS 8.
* **Faster Disk Performance** replaces the Macintosh system software's disk caching routine with a version that is up to 40% faster for slower drives.
* **Faster Emulation** replaces the original Mac 68K emulator by Gary Davidian with a much faster dynamic recompiler for Power Macintosh computers.

### Pippin and *Speed Doubler*

*Speed Doubler* can be used to boost the performance of a Pippin console because Pippin OS / Mac OS 7.5.2 still contained a lot of emulated 68K code at the time. However, any change to the startup disk requires Pippin authentication to be bypassed with a developer ROM, developer dongle, or *Pippin Kickstart* bootdisk. *Speed Doubler* can double the speed of a Power Macintosh 6100, the model often used for Pippin benchmarking.

## Version history

*Speed Doubler* was first released by Connectix at Macworld Expo in 1995 and supported System 7.0 to 7.5.x. Versions 2.0, 1.3.1, and earlier have known issues with Mac OS 7.6 and are disabled by Mac OS 7.6.1. Version 2.0.3 and earlier do not work with Mac OS 8, but 1.3.2 does. The last major release, *Speed Doubler 8*, was introduced in 1997 and works with Mac OS 7.5.5 to 8.0; various updates added support up to Mac OS 8.6. Updates are limited to features and compatibility; there is no noticeable improvement in emulation performance between versions. The effect of emulation was also decreased as Mac OS 8.6 had introduced a PowerPC-native nanokernel that had been rewritten by René A. Vega.

Mac OS 9 or later is not supported, as Apple had by then improved disk caching and also implemented its own dynamic recompiler by Eric Traut.
The Faster File Copying component of *Speed Doubler* was spun off into a stand-alone utility called *Copy Agent*.

## References

1. ↑ *SPEED DOUBLER (日本語版)*, Suruga-Ya (Japanese). Accessed 2019-08-29.
2. ↑ About MindVision Software, MindVision Software, Digital River. Accessed 2019-08-29.
3. ↑ RAM Disk vs. Disk Cache: When to Use Each by Scott L. Barber, Low End Mac. 1999-10-06.
4. ↑ Supercharge Your System, *MacWorld* p.77. 1999-08.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 CONNECTIX ANNOUNCES *SPEED DOUBLER 2* FOR MACINTOSH, Macintosh Users Group of Regina Saskatchewan. 1996-12-09.
6. ↑ *Spectre Supreme* on networked Pippin @WORLD consoles (VCFW19) by Pippin ATWORLD, YouTube. 2019-08-89.
7. ↑ *SoftWindows* grows up with improved speed and networking by Fred DeLisio, *InfoWorld*. 1995-11-06.
8. ↑ Bandai Pippin Image Archive by Bryan G. Villados, *The Mac Geek*. Accessed 2017-04-15.
9. ↑ *Speed Doubler* Quickens the Pace by Richard C.S. Kinne, TidBITS. 1995-08-28.
10. ↑ System 7.6.1 Update Notes, MacFixer Vintage Software Library. 1997. Accessed 2019-08-29.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Mac OS Info - Speed Doubler 8 installed, The 6400 Zone. 1997-10-18.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Best Classic Mac Software by Daniel Knight, Low End Mac. 2016-07-19.
13. ↑ Mac OS nanokernel by Protools5LEGuy, Mac OS 9 Lives. 2016-05-19.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Macworld Expo Report #2 by Daniel Knight, Low End Mac. 2000-07-20.
15. ↑ Ways To Make Your Mac Go Faster by cmteng, MacGurus. 2001-08-23.
16. ↑ The RISC penalty by Zalman Stern, Google Groups. 1996-01-02.
17. ↑ Connectix RAM Doubler & Speed Doubler by yjchoi17, BetaArchive. 2015-04-17.

## External links

* *Speed Doubler 8* at Connectix (archived 2000-02-29)
* *Speed Doubler 8* by Shawn FitzGerald at Mindjack (1998-09-07)
* *Speed Doubler 8.0.1* by Oliver Dueck at the Mac Observer (1997-11-25)
* Connectix Releases *Speed Doubler 8.1.1* by Geoff Duncan at TidBITS (1998-09-14)
* Performance Boost From Using *Speed Doubler 8* at MacSpeedZone
* Speed Doubler at the Apple Wiki