It features a special version of System 7.1 with its integrated MultiFinder environment, running on an emulated 68LC040 CPU (which lacks floating-point support).
Up to 70% of host RAM can be allocated to MAE using its customized Memory control panel.
The custom environment omits support for some Macintosh functionality, such as QuickTime, sound, serial, networking, and hardware drivers within CDEVs and INITs.
Clipboard integration permits textual and graphical copying and pasting between the Macintosh and X Window System environments.
Reviewed as an "impressive piece of work" in 1994 by Open Systems Today magazine, MAE 1.0's performance on a SPARCclassic workstation with 32 MB of RAM was "sluggish" with screen redraws "slower than a Mac Plus", but higher-end workstations have performance comparable to a Macintosh IIci.