Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 22:40:50 PST
From: The Info-Mac Moderators <info-mac-request@sumex-aim.stanford.edu>
Reply-To: Info-Mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu
Subject: Info-Mac Digest V15 #60
To: info-mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="Info-Mac-Digest"

--Info-Mac-Digest


Info-Mac Digest             Mon, 10 Mar 97       Volume 15 : Issue 60

Today's Topics:

      [!] 200 uploads waiting...
      [*] ExtensionInformant1.2.hqx
      [*] InfoMac Plug-In for AnySearch
      [*] NetRPG 2.59
      [*] PredDemo1.0 - Kids Edutainment Demo
      [*] Raven 1.0
      [*] Raven 1.0 Examples.sit
      [*] TidBITS#369/10-Mar-97
      [*] WarpSearch 2.4 -> 2.5 Updater
      [A] Animated GIFs
      [Q] 7.1P --> 7.5.x OK to do?
      [Q] Font Utility
      algebra teaching software
      Animated Gifs (3 msgs)
      ATM 4 [C]
      Boot disk problems
      Boot disk problems>Solved
      CyberDog and the '030 (and Java, too)
      data overrun or underrun?!?
      Desperately need [HD] help.
      Flames
      Floppy drive for Quadra 800
      Font utility
      Font Utility [A]
      FreePP and Modem Speed
      Getting past At Ease without admin password
      Hard drive for LC
      Hard drive for LC59
      Here's a GX question
      Installing 7.5.5
      Internal CD on LC 550
      Internal Modem Tools
      IOMEGA ALERT
      Kagi and Credit Card Theft
      more Symantec comments
      Need Advice on Upgrading/Replacing PowerBook 540
      Netscape/IE2.1... also, binaries in Usenet
      PB 100 batteries?
      Photoshop 3.03 crash
      picture clipping, type=clpp creator=drag
      PopChar
      powerbook keyboard
      Printing special characters on HP 5MP
      RD2/Quickdraw 3d conflict-->IE3/simpletext crash
      Removing QuickDraw GX - My Experience
      System 7.6 thoughts
      System software for Mac Plus (R)

The Info-Mac Network operates by the volunteer efforts of:
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The Info-Mac Archive is available at 50 public and private sites around
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Also accessible by ftp.  Help files and indexes are also in info-mac/help/.

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

--Info-Mac-Digest
Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------"
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Info-Mac Digest V15 #60"

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 22:33:06 -0600
From: "Gordon Watts (Brown University)" <gwatts@FNAL.GOV>
Subject: [!] 200 uploads waiting...

Hey!
  Guess what -- there are over 200 uploads waiting in the wings. The
problem is that we accentially put them up in MacBinary. We caught them
just before they went out -- we'll get them fixed asap!

	Cheers,
		Gordon (info-mac moderator)


Guess what else... info-mac is moving! Unfortunately, we were caught a little
off gaurd (well, really, on our fat butts cause we weren't moving fast
enough).
I'll post something in the digest tomorrow, as we get the details worked out.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:23 -0700
From: joec@amug.org
Subject: [*] ExtensionInformant1.2.hqx

Extension Informant for Macintosh and Power Macintosh v1.2, Copyright =A9199=
5-97,
Joseph Cicinelli.  All Rights Reserved. Released on February 19, 1997

Purpose: Ever wonder what that unfamilar extension in your System Folder did=
 or
what it was used for?  Have you ever puzzled over why a particular extension
didn't work correctly or wondered if you had an extension installed correctl=
y?
Well, this program was written to answer these questions and more! In its ba=
sic
form, Extension Informant is a hypertext-based help system and uses AppleScr=
ipt
to assist it in performing certain Finder-related tasks such as copying or
moving
files.  In addition to its application-like behavior, it also possesses a
drag-and-drop interface that permits you to drop an unfamilar extension on i=
ts
icon to discover the extension's purpose (if it's in the database of course!=
 ).

In addition to adding approximately 30 new extensions and descriptions, Inte=
rnet
web links (URLs) have been added for each of the extensions so that finding =
the
latest update or locating the software will be much easier.  Clicking on one=
 of
these will launch your internet web browser and load the desired site.

Requirements: 1.  4 MB of RAM and approximately 3.1 MB of disk space.

2.  To take full advantage of Extension Informant's powerful trouble shootin=
g
capabilities, you will need to have AppleScript=81 1.1 or later installed. =
 If you
are currently using System 7.5 or later, you have AppleScript installed and
simply need to make sure it is active and loaded at startup.  The Finder
Scripting Extension will also need to be loaded as well as the English Diale=
ct
file inside the Scripting Additions folder within the Extensions Folder.

3.  If you have a PowerPC, the program is a Fat Binary and can thus take
advantage of your machine's speed!

Joe Cicinelli Macintosh/Newton Developer joec@amug.org Frontier Scripting Ge=
ek
http://amug.org/~joec

[Archived as /info-mac/info/sft/extension-informant-12.hqx; 1621K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:39 -0700
From: kindall@manual.com
Subject: [*] InfoMac Plug-In for AnySearch

This is a plug-in I created for AnySearch, an extension from PrivNet which
gives
you a search field in your browser's button bar.  With AnySearch, you can
search
Excite, Yahoo, AltaVista and other search engines without waiting for the
search
page to load.  Now, with the Info-Mac plug-in, you can also search the Info-Mac
HyperArchive at MIT.

Got any other search engines you want to see supported?  Drop me a line.
Perhaps
I'll do DejaNews next...

Jerry Kindall <kindall@manual.com>
Manual Labor  <http://www.manual.com/>
Technical Writing; Internet & WWW Consulting

Author of the Web Motion Encyclopedia
The comprehensive animation and video reference for Web designers
Coming Summer '97 from Waite Group Press

[Archived as /info-mac/comm/inet/web/info-mac-plug-in.hqx; 12K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:26 -0700
From: Erich.G.Bratton-1@tc.umn.edu
Subject: [*] NetRPG 2.59

NetRPG is an internet server which lets a group of friends role-play over the
net, with the players working together (or not) and a DM running the show.
NetRPG allows players to talk with one another using a mud-like interface,
ready
weapons, set an armor class, have hit  points, store online character sheets,
calculate and run combats using initiative rolls, resolve attacks and
distribute
damage between players and monsters, store and retrieve ASCII maps to
facilitate
showing exactly where the action is occuring, roll dice either in the open or
privately shown to only the player and DM, and allows the DM to fudge attack
rolls when a plot line necessitates a critical hit or miss or whatever. All of
these features (and more!) combine in NetRPG to make live internet role-playing
not only possible, but very enjoyable!

New in 2.59:

/MOVE ALL & /MOVETO ALL commands let the DM move all icons at once /MAP FOR
command lets the DM get a look at exact what a player can see from their
vantage
point Minor bug fixes for some mapping problems NetRPG Manual is now up to date

More info at:

http://www.lextech.com/egb/netrpg.html

--Erich

[Archived as /info-mac/game/adv/netrpg-259.hqx; 120K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:33 -0700
From: thibault@boldermm.com
Subject: [*] PredDemo1.0 - Kids Edutainment Demo

Predators of America

February 22, 1997 - This is the Demo version of the full CD-ROM title.

For kids 6 and up, Predators of America is an Internet-aware, CD-ROM
edutainment
title that helps kids, parents and teachers learn about the special
relationships
between predators and prey. It is based on the work of Colorado
photographer/biologist, W. Perry Conway who has presented this throughout the
Colorado public school system.

Features & Benefits

*       Excellent wildlife photography *        Challenging games and a Hidden
game
*       Colorful animation, Cool music, Dynamic food chains *   Multimedia with
a
Web component * An informative 25-minute wildlife slide show *  Teacher and
student quiz

System Requirements Macintosh, System 7.0 or later, 8 Meg
RAM, 68030 processor, QuickTime.

Copyright 1996, BOLDer Multimedia, Inc.  All rights reserved.

[Archived as /info-mac/edu/pred-demo.hqx; 4141K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:37 -0700
From: jesjones@mail1.halcyon.com
Subject: [*] Raven 1.0

This file contains the source for Raven 1.0 a new C++ framework for Macintosh
programming. Raven is similar to PowerPlant and MacApp but takes full advantage
of newer C++ features, has a more modular structure, and makes extensive use of
programming by contract.

Like ODF and MacApp Raven makes extensive use of multiple inheritance by
means of
mixin classes. Raven also uses the standard C++ classes wherever possible,
including the string class, the standard exception classes, and STL. Raven also
makes use of template classes and RTTI.

Raven is divided into four layers: Foundation, Core, Application, and
Esoteria.
Each layer is composed of a number of packages. For example the Core layer has
a
Files package containing classes to manage things like reading/writing a file,
iterating over files, accessing the Desktop Manager, and CustomGetFile and
CustomPutFile.

The Foundation layer contains low level classes for things like memory
management, debugging, broadcast/listener, exceptions, string utilities, and
geometry classes. The Core layer includes a large number of generally
useful classes for things
like graphics, sound, files, menus, command objects, drag and drop,
preferences,
etc. The Application layer contains higher level classes for views, windows,
and
application objects.

The Esoteria layer contains more exotic classes that most applications won't
need. It includes classes for compression, parsing, 2D graphing, and
mathematics.

Because the lower layers are independant of the higher layers and coupling
between packages is minimized you can easily use parts of Raven with other
frameworks. For example, most of the Foundation and Core layers can be used
with
PowerPlant.

Raven includes a rich set of debugging tools that include several excellent
debug
macros, a powerful debug menu, a framework for developing unit tests, and a
flexible replacement for the default operator new that keeps a stack crawl for
each allocated block.

In addition the member functions in Raven classes do a good job of
verifying the validity of their arguments and many of the classes
include Invariant methods to catch bugs within Raven or within ill
behaved subclasses.
Jesse (jesjones@halcyon.com)

[Archived as /info-mac/dev/raven-10.hqx; 2776K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:36 -0700
From: jesjones@mail1.halcyon.com
Subject: [*] Raven 1.0 Examples.sit

This file contains some CodeWarrior projects for the Raven 1.0 C++
framework. The projects are:

IconEdit - A simple document oriented application similar to the MacApp example
of the same name.

DropCount - A drag and drop app that counts the number of source lines in C/C++
code.

Skeleton - A do nothing app for use as the base for new projects.

Quill - The Raven view editor.

Jesse (jesjones@halcyon.com)

[Archived as /info-mac/dev/raven-10-examples.hqx; 1915K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 22:10:52 -0800
From: TidBITS Editors <editors@tidbits.com>
Subject: [*] TidBITS#369/10-Mar-97

TidBITS#369/10-Mar-97

How long will you wait for Mac OS 8? Only a few months, as Apple
re-christens Tempo. Also this week, we bring you news on a final release of
CFM-68K, increases in Mac OS market share, and a sweet deal from Apple for
some Performa owners. Plus, we take a look at feedback from readers on
retail Macintosh sales, and Matt Neuburg offers an in-depth look at the
multimedia authoring program SuperCard 3.0.

Topics:
    MailBITS/10-Mar-97
    Eight is Enough (and More Apple News)
    Front Lines Follow-up
    Surprised by SuperCard

<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-369.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/issues/1997/TidBITS#369_10-Mar-97.etx>

[Archived as /info-mac/per/tb/tidbits-369.etx; 30K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:48:41 -0700
From: glen_stewart@associate.com
Subject: [*] WarpSearch 2.4 -> 2.5 Updater

The attached patch can be used to update the WarpSearch CGI 2.4 to version
2.5.

This patch resolves a problem brought on by System 7.6, so if you are running
7.6, you should install it.

The patch also changes the way the "_" underscore character is handled in the
search results page - apparently some versions of WebSTAR are still not
compliant with RFC1630, so this character is no longer encoded for this
reason, as well as because every browser platform handles it unencoded.

Enjoy,

Glen

[Archived as /info-mac/comm/inet/web/cgi/warp-search-25-patch.hqx; 21K]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 09:20:27 +0000
From: Roland Whitehead <rowhitehead@continum.demon.co.uk>
Subject: [A] Animated GIFs

>Date: 04 Mar 1997 13:11:59 -0500
>From: Art Werschulz <agw@cs.columbia.edu>
>Subject: Animated GIFs
>
>Hi.
>
>Does anybody know of shareware or freeware for making animated GIFs?
>Thanks.


GifBuilder by Yves Piguet <piguet@ia.epfl.ch>.  Actually its freeware and
pretty good - supports transparent animated gifs etc.

Roland WHitehead
CONTINUUM ID, UK

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 09:51:50 -0400
From: Sherrill Fink <sfink@crosslink.net>
Subject: [Q] 7.1P --> 7.5.x OK to do?

My boss wants to upgrade his home Performa 600CD, 20MB RAM, 160MB HD
>From 7.1P to 7.5.x or 7.6.  First, can he do this, or does that
generation of Performa require a "P" system version?

Secondly, as you can tell he's OK in the RAM department, but is
there some point at which the System will be too slow for his
processor to be worth it?  Should he just load 7.5?  7.5.3 Rev 2?
Or should he jump all the way to 7.6?

Thanks for your assistance.  Reply either to the list or my personal
email address.

Sherrill Fink <sfink@crosslink.net>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 13:13:46 -0800
From: Chris Schram <schram@mail.coos.or.us>
Subject: [Q] Font Utility

On Sun, 9 Mar 1997, Keith E Gatling <kgatling@ican.net> wrote:
>Is there a font utility out there anywhere that will allow me to decide what
>fonts show up in my font menu (I've got tons) and allow me do put the rest of
>them in groups that I can name *without them having some common first
>character*?

Both Suitcase and Master Juggler can do that quite easily.
Although Suitcase has a better user interface (IMHO), I just switched
over to MJ. (Suitcase 2.1.4p3 was becoming less and less stable running
under newer System software, and I just didn't want to give Symantec
any more of my money.)

Chris Schram -- schram@mail.coos.or.us -- http://www.coos.or.us/~schram

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 16:30:57 GMT
From: "GRAEME CRAIG" <GP.Craig@ulst.ac.uk>
Subject: algebra teaching software

Hi all
A few years ago I picked up a package off the net to teach algebra.
Since I reformatted my hard drive I can't relocate where the file
came from, I reckon it was either Umich or Info-Mac but a search
through the archives turned up nothing. I can't remember if it was a
hypercard stack or a stand alone application. If anyone has any
pointers to it or to alternatives please let me know

TIA
Graeme Craig

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:28:45 -0100
From: tina wright <tina@call-us.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Animated Gifs

 -----------------------------
Date: 04 Mar 1997 13:11:59 -0500
From: Art Werschulz <agw@cs.columbia.edu>
Subject: Animated GIFs
Hi.
Does anybody know of shareware or freeware for making animated GIFs?
Thanks.

 -----------------------------

A great little program is GifBuilder - easy to use and widely used. Its
shareware or freeware
( I can't think which) but its really good. Hope that helps!

Tina Wright

http://www.call-us.demon.co.uk

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 09:56:29 -0600
From: Lanny Chambers <creative@inlink.com>
Subject: Animated GIFs

On 3/10/97 00:25, Info-Mac (info-mac@starnine.com) wrote:

>Does anybody know of shareware or freeware for making animated GIFs?

The best GIF animator on any platform is the freeware GifBuilder:

   </gst/grf/gif-builder-05.hqx>

Don't be put off by the version 0.5--this is a mature program that's
amazingly simple to use, yet offers more features than anything else
available. My favorite is its ability to convert Photoshop layers into
animation frames.

Lanny Chambers (creative@inlink.com) St. Louis, USA
Visit the Hummingbird Page: <http://www.derived.com/hummers>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 10:11:15 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: Animated GIFs

At 1:11 PM -0500 3/4/97, Art Werschulz wrote:
>Does anybody know of shareware or freeware for making animated GIFs?
>Thanks.

GIFBuilder:
<http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/gst/grf/gif-builder-05.hqx
>

chazl
03.10.97

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:35:15 -0600
From: Graeme Forbes <forbes@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: ATM 4 [C]

>Am I really the only person having problems with Adobe Type Manager v4.0
>on two monitors?

No you are not. I've never got anti-aliasing to work properly on my Apple
Portrait Display - text at the bottom of the screen comes out "smudged" (as
opposed to jaggy). The problem persists whether I'm running an 040 or a
Power Mac, System 7.5.5 or 7.6, ATM4 or ATM4 Deluxe. I've been meaning to
call Adobe but can't face the runaround their phone system gives you.

It's just possible that the problem is specific to the Portrait Display.

Best,
Graeme Forbes

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:14:28 +1100
From: Bill Stanford <stanford@magna.com.au>
Subject: Boot disk problems

Info-Mac Digest V15 #56: Ian Burt <burty@enterprise.net> :

>I have a Performa 630 CD/TV/ 350/8 MB ram doubled with Ram Doubler, running
>OS 7.5.5. I borrowed a drive off my friend to use as storage whilst some
>large documents were passing through my hands. It is an internal SCSSI 250
>MB and has been sent to me all wrapped up in an external CDROM drive
>housing. I plug it in, reboot, do the business with copying docs over,
>shut down, pull out the alien drive out of the equation, reboot and get a
>sad Mac with the biggest question mark I've seen for a year or so.

Ian, on the surface of it this sounds as if the external is wrongly
addressed, or terminated; and this has led to damage of the boot blocks,
yep, driver damage, on your IDE.

As a first move, you'll have to run your format program and update drivers.
This _should_ fix things.

>FWIW we've done it a time or two
>before with no problems.

SCSI + an IDE is even more like black magic than SCSI by itself...

Good luck!

bill  <stanford@magna.com.au> <Bill_Stanford@knet.gol.com>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:35:28 -0600 (CST)
From: "Mark E. Ingram" <markt@mickey.mo-net.com>
Subject: Boot disk problems>Solved

Ian Burt wrote:

> In Info-Mac Digest V15 #56 I said that I was having problems booting
> from my internal hard drive (IDE) since I had plugged in an external
> scsi drive.  [Problem now solved via System Picker.]

Ian,

Just for the heck of it, fire up Apple's Drive Setup program (preferably
the latest version, 1.2.2), click on your internal IDE drive, and then go
up to the Functions menu, and see if the item "Update Driver" is grayed
out (and unselectable).  If its letters are black, go ahead and update the
driver - it can't hurt anything, and it might actually help.

If this item is gray, however, you need to resign yourself (the quicker
the better) to re-initializing (formatting) your IDE drive - after fully
backing it up, of course.  My preference is for a low-level format (per
the program's Initialization Options under the Functions menu).

I have had this happen more times (to more computers) than I care to
remember, but leaving the drive in this condition is asking for future
problems.  So what causes it?  I don't really know, but *suspect* that it
might result from Netscape crashes that occur with cache files open (as a
general rule, now, we set this to 0 Mb on most machines).

Mark E. Ingram

MarkT@Mo-Net.Com (also mingram@mail.orion.org)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 21:10:06 -0500 (EST)
From: Mark Fiske <mfiske@nike.heidelberg.edu>
Subject: CyberDog and the '030 (and Java, too)

Hey guys:

I was just wondering if there are any '030 users out there, or even '040
users, that could give me a CyberDog testimonial.  Is it stable?  How much
RAM does it run in?  Is it Java enabled?

thanks,
Mark.

TableCloths- precision, high-quality desktop patterns

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 09:50:11 +0100
From: gcaniglia@mail5.clio.it (Gabriele Caniglia)
Subject: data overrun or underrun?!?

A friend of mine owns a Centris 660AV. Everything always went fine with it,
but yesterday Norton Disk Doctor reported serious errors (leaf node) it
couldn't fix. The suggestion was to backup and reformat the HD. Actually,
these days the beloved Mac displayed strange behaviours: many installers
crashed during installation (AcrobatReader 3, Now Utilities 6.7, etc.) and
some files and folders completely disappeared from the hard drive (we
picked them up by the Find File system utility and dragging those onto a
different disk). Directory damaged, I thought, then I reinitialized the HD
with Apple HD SC Setup 7.3.5 and tried to install System 7.5 to no avail:
the installer crashed everytime. We examined the situation: no problem in
writing, disk access error in *almost* every read process!

Next step:

Norton Disk Doctor 3.2.4
Norton Speed Disk 3.2.1
Disinfectant 3.6 (of course!)

but no problems found with those.

We performed a disk test with FWB HardDisk Toolkit 2.0.5. The log reported
no bad blocks found, but A DATA OVERRUN OR UNDERRUN in every read attempt:

***************

Drive name: SEAGATE ST3600N    9422
Drive Capacity 501MB
Block size: 512 bytes per block
Total number of blocks 1025920
Test type: best test
Test range: block 0 to 1025919
Write test enabled: no
Self test enabled: no
Reallocation of bad blocks: off

Sequential test read: FAIL
Detected data overrun or underrun
Sequential test seek: PASS
Sequential test verify: PASS
Sequential test finished
No bad blocks found in sequential test

Random test read: FAIL
Detected data overrun or underrun
Random test seek: PASS
Random test verify: PASS
Random test finished
No bad blocks found in random test

Alternating test read: FAIL
Detected data overrun or underrun
Alternating test seek: PASS
Alternating test verify: PASS
Alternating test finished
No bad blocks found in alternating test

No bad blocks found during diagnostic test.

**********************

At this point we formatted the disk using HDT (options: low level,
interleave 1, block size 512KB), and after we performed a new disk test:
the same problems found!

What can it be then? There seem to be no bad blocks, so I thought it could
be the disk driver, but HDT installed its brand new driver!

I hope you can help me, I can't guess what to try else...

Italian greetings,
Gabriele Caniglia.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:30:14 +1100
From: Bill Stanford <stanford@magna.com.au>
Subject: Desperately need [HD] help.

Info-Mac Digest V15 #56: Pretoris@concentric.net :

>I've got an external HD that is acting up. The hard drive will spin up but
>when I try to mount it, read from it, write to it, or in any way access it,
>it will spin down and give the finder or FWB HDT an error. Using HDT I'm
>almost positive that the driver is damaged but I can[t] replace it be 'cause
>it keeps spinning down. I cant use norton or MacTools unless the drive is
>mounted so I cant use those two.
>
>Any help, ideas, tips, etc. are appreciated and needed. Thanks!

Rob, given that HDT can't update the driver, the drive mechanism itself is
probably failing...

To test this lamentable hypothesis, use the full test suite in HDT, and
leave the tests run.  It sounds as if you're going to get errors, and,
simply put, if you get lots, the drive has failed.

It may still be worth running Norton, since in fact the Doctor can work
with an unmounted volume, it will see these on a SCSI scan, and start
testing.  During the test sequence Norton will attempt to mount the drive;
and if you're not backed up it is worth trying this as a desparate measure.
It's possible that very badly damaged volume info or boot blocks is
throwing HDT, and Norton might jump past these problems with a fix...
though the chances of this aren't good.

all the best!



bill  <stanford@magna.com.au> <Bill_Stanford@knet.gol.com>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 10:17:55 -1000
From: Jerry Levinson <levinson@hawaii.edu>
Subject: Flames

In the Feb. 20 issue of PCWeek, a columnist, writing on the problems of
Plug-and-Play, said (I paraphrase here): in order to forestall Mac users
>From flaming him, he would admit that the Mac version of Plug-and-Play was
first and is still better.

This sounded like an overreaction to Mac users comments, so I wrote:

> Regarding your 2/10 PCWeek column:
> About what percent of pro-Mac are really flames and what percent are
> reasonable responses?

Imagine my surprise (and chagrin) when he responded thusly:

> Of the responses to this particular column, in which the only mention of
> the Mac was a compliment, I'd estimate about a quarter of the responses were
> flames.  When we criticize the Mac or Apple at all, the flame percentage
> is closer to 75.  And I truly mean flames, not merely annoyed responses.

I thought we were more polite and/or reasonable than that. I got his
permission to forward his response in the hope that it will alert Mac
advocates to the need for calm and reason. After all, since we have logic
and fact on our side, we dont need flames.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 11:11:11 CST
From: JOHNSON@TWSUVM.UC.TWSU.EDU
Subject: Floppy drive for Quadra 800

I would like to thank everyone who responded to my request for help in
finding an affordable replacement for the floppy drive in a Quadra 800.
I have attached a condensed version (header lines removed) of the responses
I received.  Again, thanks to all of you for your helpful and prompt
information.

Regards,
Brenda Johnson
johnson@twsuvm.uc.twsu.edu
> We need to replace the floppy drive in a Quadra 800.  MacWarehouse and
> MacConnection quote replacement prices around $380.  Does anyone have any
> ideas on a cheaper source.  I work at a university and those in charge would
> just as soon not have Macs anyway.  This replacement price only gives them
> more fuel for their anti-Mac fire.
> Thank you for any help.
> Brenda F. Johnson
> johnson@twsuvm.uc.twsu.edu


TRY: SMALL DOG ELECTRONICS AT:  http://www.smalldoggy.com  they have new
units for $89, refurbs for $79....interesting site to boot.  CY

=========================================================================
You should not have to pay more than $130 for a replacement Apple floppy
drive. Give Shreve Systems a call at 1-800-227-3971. They have the Apple
SuperDrives brand new for $129. Or better yet, call Pre-Owned Electronics
(I've dealt with them before). They will send you a floppy drive (charging
you the full ammount) and will credit you the difference once you send them
back the bad drive. This way would most likely be cheaper because then they
get $50 back from Apple once they ship the drive back to Apple.

I find it very hard to believe that those drives would go for $380. Even an
Apple dealer (store) would not charge that much.
=========================================================================
$380 sounds very high to me. I do not recall the floppy drives for
that specific quadra being any different than any other Mac, but
perhaps they are quoting the older motorized kind. In any case, I see
super drives advertised for $129 at Shreve systems, 1-800-227-3971,
<http:/www.shrevesystems.com>
=========================================================================
Brenda: I am the tech coordinator for a K-12 school system in Michigan.
I do some business with Prefix Technologies in Eugene Oregon,
1-800-264-2530

They will refurbish drives (actually exchange yours for another) and
sell new drives in the $99 range. Check with them. I have always been
very happy with their service etc.
=========================================================================
That price is absurd. A used floppy drive mechanism should cost you $40-60
(you might even find a new one for that price, though there's no need to).
For that matter you could buy a used Mac II for under $100 and scavenge the
floppy drive, and still be $280 ahead. :)

There are two kinds of Mac floppy drive mechanisms - the older, better,
"auto-inject" kind (which kind of suck the disk in the last half-centimetre)
and the newer, cheaper, "manual inject" PC type. You can use either type,
but unless the Mac came with the newer type it won't have an indentation
around the floppy slot, so you'd be better off with the auto-inject style
(otherwise it'll be difficult to fully insert a disk). Most forsale postings
will list seperate prices for both (the auto-inject ones are usually about
$10 more - the newer drives are basically PC clone equipment).

Check the postings of stuff for sale on the
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.* newsgroups. There are several vendors
of used stuff there.

=========================================================================
So get the Purchasing Dept. to buy two or three floppies from TDCurran.
Install one yourself and keep the others as spares.

Did the Purchasing Dept. find out what it would cost to replace a floppy
in an IBM by calling the IBM dealer (not a clone maker/repair shop but a
genuine IBM dealer)? Just as a valid comparison, mind you.

=========================================================================
You can get a replacement drive from Shreve systems
(http://www.shrevesystems.com/parts.html) for $129.  It is very easy to put in,
as long as you're comfortable with opening the case and popping out a few
parts.  You should unplug the cable and then slide out the drive.  Nothing
should need to be unscrewed at first.  You'll have to look for some sort of tab
somewhere (this varies by model) that will release the drive so it can be slid
out.  The drive will probably be mounted in a bracket, and the drive + bracket
will slide out.  You'll then need to unscrew the bracket from the drive, and
put the bracket on the new drive.  Different models all have different
brackets, so I doubt the new drive will ship with the q800 bracket.  Don't pay
for a new one, since you'll be throwing out the old q800 disk drive.  Keep that
bk drive.
=========================================================================
    I recently ordered a couple of spare 3.5" 1.44 MB autoeject floppy drives
 for Macintoshs.  I maintain
about 200 Macs and have been very happy with the quality from this company.  I
 found the address in
MacWeek among the smaller ads in the back pages.

Tell them the model that you want it for.  Its $ 79. with trade in and $ 99.
 without trade in.

<gfleet@utmem1.utmem.edu>
cey@earthlink.net
<JOHN.FEINBERG@roche.com>
<frank@nhgri.nih.gov>
<toh@freenet.victoria.bc.ca>
<levinson@hawaii.edu>
garmenjm@sptyv.dnet.dupont.com
<mdemorro@edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 12:40:59 +0100
From: michael@intertec.se (Michael =?iso-8859-1?Q?Brostr=F6m?= )
Subject: Font utility

>Date: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 07:32:15 -0500
>From: Keith E Gatling <kgatling@ican.net>
>Subject: [Q] Font Utility
>
>I've tried MenuFonts, which almost does what I want; Adobe Type Reunion, which
>doesn't do it at all; and looked at the demo for TypeTamer, which doesn't look
>like what I want either, so now I'll put the question out to you people...
>
>Is there a font utility out there anywhere that will allow me to decide what
>fonts show up in my font menu (I've got tons) and allow me do put the rest of
>them in groups that I can name *without them having some common first
>character*?  Currently MenuFonts (which is the best so far) lets me put all
>my unused fonts in a group called Unused provided that I change all their
>names so they begin with "Unused".  I just want to be able to define groups
>like "Extra A-F", "Extra G-M", etc and put the fonts in them *without* having
>to change the name of the font to "Extra A-F Braille".
>
>Anyone know of anything like that?

I'm not sure if you wanted to know of a commercial application doing this,
but MasterJuggler does this (and more). Produced by Alsoft (713-353-4090).

If there is a freeware-/shareware-application that does this I'd be
interested in it too for my girl friends mac.

Mike

_____
TEKNO
+46-35-15 74 85        "A bad day at the golf course is
+46-35-10 52 85 (fax)   better than a good day at work!"

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:35:14 -0600
From: Graeme Forbes <forbes@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Font Utility [A]

There's a company called Impossible Software that makes a utility called
Type Tamer that may be exactly what you need. I think it's optimized to
work with Word, PageMaker and Quark. Doesn't work with FrameMaker.

Graeme Forbes

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:29:38 -0100
From: tina wright <tina@call-us.demon.co.uk>
Subject: FreePP and Modem Speed

 -----------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 14:46:52 -0600
From: "Bruce A. Bromberek" <bromberek@cems.umn.edu>
Subject: FreePP and Modem Speed

Greetings-

I currently use FreePPP to connect to my university account.  My modem is a
GeoPort running w/ v3.0 of the geoport software.
My problem:  The university closed the 14.4 lines in favor of 28.8K+ lines.
Great I said.  Now when I connect the software negotiates and I'm at 26.4.
Good I say.  Then I try and do something, and find that at this high
connection speed, the Geoport has parasitically sucked too much processor
time.  So while I save up for a real modem and retire the geoport I would
like to force a connection at a lower speed but it is not obvious how to
with FreePPP.
My question:  How can I force FreePPP to connect at 14.4 when both modems
are capable of connecting at higher speeds.
Thanks in advance
Bruce

 -----------------------------

Hi Bruce,

With FreePPP 2.5v2, open the 'Accounts' section, then select your account
in the
window on the left and 'Edit' it. Then choose 'Connection' and change the
port speed
to what you want (in your case 14.4)

Hope that helps sort your problem out!

Tina Wright

http://www.call-us.demon.co.uk

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:52:09 -0600 (CST)
From: "Mark E. Ingram" <markt@mickey.mo-net.com>
Subject: Getting past At Ease without admin password

Chaz (et al.),

At Ease for Work Groups 4.0.1 is definitely not perfect, but in a school
environment with about 200 Macs, it has held up well.  Unlike the
DOS/Windoze machines, the Macs for the most part retain their System
settings over time and continue to work.

As can happen with the best security systems, the main breaches have been
due to unauthorized divulgence of passwords.  I do have high hopes for the
feature set of (future) At Ease 5.0, however.

Regards,

Mark E. Ingram

MarkT@Mo-Net.Com (also mingram@mail.orion.org)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:33:51 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: Hard drive for LC

At 8:55 AM -0600 3/5/97, Steve Waechter wrote:
>I need some advice. I have an original LC (system 7.5, 10 meg RAM) and I
>want to add an external hard drive.

You can attach basically any SCSI drive you want to your LC.  You probably
won't want to spend more to get, say, an AV-capable drive [unless you're
planning to upgrade to a new, faster Mac in the near future], but other
than that there's no upper limit on size that would be unique to the LC.

As for vendor, I've used almost exclusively Quantum drives over the years,
and have had nothing but good experiences with them and their customer
service.

chazl
03.10.97
 -------

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 97 09:50:55 EST
From: "John Stevens" <John_Stevens@sydney.sterling.com>
Subject: Hard drive for LC59

>I need some advice. I have an original LC (system 7.5, 10 meg RAM) and I
>want to add an external hard drive. Should I be aware of any limitations on
>what the LC can do or handle as far as size/speed/etc are concerned? And
>what would you recommend as far as brand and/or supplier are concerned?

I have the same config - I added a 2Gb IBM drive last year with no probs except
that I had to upgrade my HD formatting software (I bought HDT personal
edition).

The LC, being only SCSI-1, can't use the full performance of the new drive.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:25:55 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: Here's a GX question

At 7:28 PM -0800 3/4/97, Jon Froines wrote:
>I have no clue about fonts.  Type
>1, PostScript, TrueType, whatever.  Haven't the foggiest.  So, one thing I
>do know, is that when I startup with an extension set that doesn't include
>the GX printing stuff, my system 7.5.5 gets all antsy about my having GX
>fonts installed, and warns me about it.  So, could anyone either give me a
>little info or point me to a site with some info about removing Quickdraw
>GX and Quickdraw GX fonts and reverting back to whatever the latest version
>of regular Quickdraw and normal fonts?  I mean, in my system folder, I have
>4 font-related folders:  Fonts, Fonts (Disabled), Archived TT Fonts, and
>*Archived Type 1 Fonts*.  (The "*" there is a bullet symbol)

Ah, fonts.  I used to work in Tech Support here at LaserMaster, and I'd say
half of our support calls were about fonts.

Skip down to the bottom if you just want to know how to fix your current
problem.

There are three broad categories of non-QuickDrawGX fonts:

+ Bitmapped-only fonts:

made for display on screen at specific point sizes, like Chicago 12.
Stored in font suitcases, and their names always have point sizes attached
to them: Geneva 9, Monaco 12, etc.

Geeky font wonk info:
The "only on screen" bit is, strictly speaking, incorrect.  The ImageWriter
printers use double- or triple-size bitmap fonts to accomplish their
high-quality printing, so if you print Geneva 12 on an ImageWriter II, the
IW driver will look for Geneva 24, then shrink it down by half to get the
144-dpi Geneva 12 you crave.  An ImageWriter LQ will shrink Geneva 36 down
to 12.

+ TrueType outline fonts:

Outline font format developed by Apple and Microsoft.  Scalable for nice
output on screen and printer at any point size.  Font scaling mechanism
built into MacOS 7, so that nice screen display doesn't require any special
software [unless you're running System 6, in which case you need the
TrueType INIT].  Stored in font suitcases; names do not have point sizes,
but may have styles; i.e. Geneva, Chicago, Helvetica (Bold).

Geeky font wonk info:
Both of the above formats can be stored outside of font suitcases, but they
are generally found inside font suitcases.

+ PostScript outline fonts:

Outline font format developed by Adobe.  Scalable for nice output on
PostScript printers at any resolution.  Many contain hints to help with
output on low-res [300dpi] printers.  Scalable for nice screen display with
the addition of special software [Adobe Type Manager].  The outline fonts
are stored as separate files with somewhat goofy names; i.e. Helve,
TimesRom, CouriObl.  They are always associated with a suitcase full of
bitmapped fonts, which are used for screen display and for building font
menus.  Without that font suitcase, PostScript fonts are useless, for the
most part.  The outline font must be stored in the same folder as its
corresponding suitcase.

Geeky font wonk info:
The name of the outline font file is derived by taking the first five
letters of the font name, then adding the first three letters of any
applied styles, so Courier Bold Oblique becomes "CouriBolObl", and Rotis
Semi-Sans Light Oblique becomes "RotisSemSanLigIta"; sometimes other stuff
is added, like LaserMaster's DTC fonts, which have names like
"FrugaSanBolItaDTC" for Frugal Sans Bold Italic.  There are tools which
allow outline fonts to be separated from their associated suitcases, but I
don't like that practice.  It makes troubleshooting font problems even more
of a nightmare if you don't have a nice clear picture of where exactly all
the parts of Spiffy Serif Bold Oblique are.

There are three flavors of PostScript outline fonts in wide use:

  * Type 0 - composite fonts, used for Asian languages; Chinese, Japanese,
etc.  A Type-0 font is essentially a collection of Type 1 fonts, wrapped up
in a bundle that allows associating a single glyph [character] with a
double-byte character code, among other things.

  * Type 1 - standard PostScript outline fonts; these are the ones you seen
the most of.  The Adobe library of Roman [non-kanji] fonts are all Type 1;
the built-in fonts in a LaserWriter are all Type 1.  They are, in fact, not
written in PostScript at all, but rather in Type 1 font format, a shorthand
notation that is supported by all PostScript interpreters.  This is what
makes Adobe Type Manager possible.  ATM merely needs to know how to
interpret and rasterize this shorthand Type-1 format to display Type-1
fonts on screen.  Type-1 fonts support hinting, and provide for only color
or no-color drawing; i.e. you won't find a Type-1 font that draws in more
than one color, or draws in tints.  These limitations are part of what
makes them so fast.

  * Type 3 - Type 3 fonts are similar to Type 1, except that a Type 3
character description is free to use standard PostScript operators.  This
means that a Type-3 font can contain pictures, gradients, tints; anything
you can draw with PostScript can go into a Type-3 font.  Those fonts that
are composed of company logos and so forth are Type-3s.  ATM cannot display
Type-3 fonts onscreen, since rasterizing a Type-3 may require the presence
of a full PostScript interpreter.  Type-3 fonts do not support hinting.

OK, OK, what about QuickDrawGX?

QuickDrawGX fonts are an extension of the TrueType specification, which
support really cool things like context-sensitive ligatures [type an f and
an l next to each other and they join magically into the "fl" [pretend
those are connected] ligature, without losing their individuality [not
possible with non-GX fonts]], among other things.

When you install QuickDraw GX, your currently installed fonts are
"converted" to QuickDrawGX fonts [this process is called "enabling"; the
Type-1s are wrapped up in TrueType wrappers, etc.

Your existing Type-1s are moved to that "*Archived Type 1 Fonts*" folder,
and the existing TrueType fonts are moved to the "Archived TT Fonts".  The
reason they're copied there is so you can do just what you want to do, go
back to a QuickDrawGX-free machine.

If you open your "Fonts" folder and compare the contents with those two
"archive" folders, you'll find that everything that is in the two archives
in also in the "Fonts" folder; the ones in the fonts folder will all be
suitcases, while your "Archived Type 1 Fonts" will be suitcases and
outlines.

Your "Fonts (disabled)" folder was created by your Extensions manager
[Conflict Catcher or equivalent].

So, to undo your QuickDraw GX font enabling, you can do this:

Drag your current "Fonts" folder out onto the desktop.  Rename "*Archived
Type 1 Fonts*" to "Fonts", then drag the contents of "Archived TT Fonts"
into your new "Fonts" folder.  Restart your Mac, and you should be back
where you were [WRT fonts, anyway] prior to Installing QuickDraw GX.  You
can now trash that "Fonts" folder on the desktop.

Hope this helps.  Feel free to ask any other font-related questions, in
case this confuses more than it illuminates.

chazl
03.10.97

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:15:11 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: Installing 7.5.5

At 11:58 AM -0600 3/4/97, Bohannon, Kim wrote:
>I checked the Mac-Fixit web page and saw that others have had this error =
>message too.  I tried their fixes but couldn't get anything to work. My =
>7.5.3 Update 2.0 CD would not let me do a clean install.  The 7.5 CD =
>wouldn't let me do a clean install.  But, I'm not very familiar with =
>clean installs so I may not have done them right. Advice on clean =
>installs or pointers to relevant web pages would be greatly appreciated. =
>I also couldn't start-up from any of those CD's which was surprising.  I =
>thought they were all start-up disks too.

The 7.5.3 [Unity} CD is supposed to be bootable; the 7.5 CD isn't, and
neither is the Update CD.  This really is a pain.

Exactly what kind of problems are you having trying to to a clean install
of 7.5?

The official method is to start the Install, then at the main screen type
command-shift-K.  You should get a little dialog that asks what kind of
install you want to do; check Clean Install [or whatever the verbiage is],
and the Installer should build a whole new System Folder, renaming your old
one.

THis will only work with the 7.5 CD; the Update Installer is only
installing an Update, not the full OS, so it cannot do a full clean install.

Here's a brute-force method:
Start up from another disk; this can be another hard disk, or a minimal
floppy with CD drivers on it.

Rename the System Folder on the target disk to anything other than the two
words "System Folder"; call it "old System Folder" or "Junk" or "Trash Me"
or somesuch.

Open that folder, and drag the Finder into any of the subfolders, like
Extensions or Control Panels.  Close the System Folder.  It should no
longer have the "blessed" System Folder icon.  If it does, open and close
it again, verifying that "System" and "Finder" are not at the same level.

The reason for those two steps is that the Intaller will use two methods to
figure out where to install: first, it looks for a folder with System and
Finder in it; if it doesn't find one, it looks for a folder called "System
Folder"; if it doesn't find that, it creates a new System Folder.

Now run the 7.5 Installer; verify that the Installer says it will "place a
new System Folder..." rather than "update the System Software...".  Install
7.5.

Next, run the 7.5 update 2.0 installer.  Now, you should be able to boot
>From the hard disk under 7.5.3, and delete the old System Folder [after
rescuing whatever you need from it].  Now, run the 7.5.5 updater and all
should be well.

>I have about 30 MB free space on the hard drive, so there's enough room.

You may want to clear a bit more space, just as a test.

>I tried the install with only System 7.5.3 extensions on, and with all =
>extensions off.  No Go.  Oh yes, I did run Disk First Aid, several times, =
>and no problems with my hard drive.  I know I'm supposed to update the =
>hard disk drivers, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.

get the latest version of whatever software you used to format your hard
disk, start it up and select "Update Drivers" from whatever menu it appears
under.  If this is an Apple HD that you've never reformatted, then the HD
Setup app that is in the 7.5.5 update folder should work for you.

Hope this helps.

chazl
03.10.97

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:56:26 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: Internal CD on LC 550

At 11:03 AM -0600 3/5/97, Steve Christensen wrote:
>Hello Again,
>I would like to install an internal CD in my Mother-In Law's LC 550. I am
>having trouble getting the bezel, but the CD's are available everywhere. Do
>you think that a double speed drive is fast enough for an '030 processor?
>I mean, like for children's educational games with animation & such?

Maybe; it depends on the specific game.  I recently had a IIvx [33MHz 030]
and many modern children's CD games were unusably slow [Disney storybooks,
in particular, though most everything [including Living Books] was bad].
The notable exception is Putt-Putt's Parade, which ran great on that
machine.  Do not even attempt to use Disney's Toy Story animated storybook
on such a machine.

I upgraded the IIvx with a Daystar Turbo040 [33Mhz], and the Disney games
became tolerable. This was with a double-speed CD.  Putting a quad-speed CD
into that machine had no significant impact.  Toy Story was unusably slow.

I then upgraded to a 6115 with a 2xCD; things got a bit better.  Now I'm
using a PC120 with a 4xCD, and things are swell, even with Toy Story.

This Toy Story CD has become my new system performance benchmark; they
claim it should run on 33MHz 040's and above, but they must be on drugs.
If I want to evaluate the performance of a given Mac, I take Toy Story to
the superstore and see if the machine can keep up with it ;).  Performance
on my 120MHz 604 is good, but on anything less the audio lags behind the
video; there are skips in the video, etc.  Man, they must be developing
this thing on Exponential machines. :)  I fear for what the newer Disney
CDs [Hunchback, 101 Dalmations] are like, since I noted a definite increase
in machine load from Pooh to Pocahontas to Toy Story.  Oh, well, enough
ranting about Disney CDs.

I guess my bottom line is to not expect much with an 030 with 2xCD, basid
on my experience.  Unless, of course, you're not as annoyed with off-sync
voice/picture as I am :).

>But Myst should be okay.

As I mention above, with CD games and their stated System requirements,
"should" is the important word here.  Toy Story "should" work fine on a
low-end 040, according to the box.  Not.

>Or should I insist on a quad
>speed? I just don't know if the slow processor has any advantage with the
>faster CD. How about, does anyone know if you have to use a caddy type in
>it or can you use a tray loading CD in this LC? Any input would be
>appreciated.

I don't know that you'll gain a whole lot with the 4x, but if the price is
close, you might as well go for it.  It can't hurt.

As for the tray-load vs. caddy-load; if you find a bezel, it will most
likely be only for a caddy-load.  You can use a tray-load in one of two
ways: get the caddy-load bezel, and hack at with a Dremel tool to provide
clearance for the tray; or just leave the bezel off.  I did the latter with
my IIvx when I had the 4x tray-loader in place, and it worked fine, thought
the cosmetics did leave a bit to be desired ;).

>Steve Christensen
>Williston, ND

hey, I went to school with a Duane Anderson from Williston!

chazl
03.10.97

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 06:27:34 -0600
From: Todd Mogilner <mogilner@daremo.com>
Subject: Internal Modem Tools

I have recently just bought a new Powerbook 3400. I love it. Everything
seems to work perfectly!! The only problem I have with the machine is
that it has an internal modem and I never know if I am connected or not
to something. Is there a shareware product or a real product that tells
you if the modem is connected or not? If so please let me know... I hate
not knowing if my modem is connected!!

Thank You,
Todd Mogilner

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 10:52:52 -0600 (CST)
From: "Mark E. Ingram" <markt@mickey.mo-net.com>
Subject: IOMEGA ALERT

On Mon, 03 Mar 1997, joshua jones <jwjones@scf-fs.usc.edu> wrote:

> The trouble with Iomega is that the ONLY way to talk to a human
> being is if you are willing to pay a $15.00 tech support fee if you
> own a Zip or Ditto drive, and a $20.00 tech fee if you own a
> Jaz drive.

Joshua, I too am beginning to have some doubts about Iomega:  A brand new
Zip drive mounts OK under the Finder, but Retrospect 3.0A reports problems
communicating with it, and then refuses to write backup archives to the
drive.  It *may* be the fault of Retrospect, but at least Dantz is
actively - and freely - working to resolve the problem.

Thanks for the warning about calling Iomega.  I'll probably take my
business elsewhere next time.

Regards,

Mark E. Ingram

MarkT@Mo-Net.Com (also mingram@mail.orion.org)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 12:21:19 -0800
From: kee nethery <kee@kagi.com>
Subject: Kagi and Credit Card Theft

>A $10 shareware payment by me (for Kaleidoscope) on January 6 via Kagi led
>to my credit card being charged twice for $10. As soon as I saw that on my
>statement I e-wrote, on 27 January, to Kagi providing details and
>requesting a correction/refund.  That was acknowledged by machine, twice,
>with the assurance that a human being would soon deal with the matter.
>
>I'm bitterly disappointed to be able to report that no action whatsoever
>ensued. On receiving my next credit card statement, and seeing there was no
>refund, I e-wrote again, on 25 February. That has only attracted a single
>machine acknowledgement.
>
>I have no doubt that the double charge was just an error. But the inability
>or unwillingness of Kagi to correct that error promptly and visibly is
>criminal. My loss of $10 is mildly irritating. The disappearance of my
>trust in Kagi is very saddening. The theft of my time is infuriating.

The rash of double charges due to the credit card software we use has caused=
 us a major backlog in refund processing and we are doing as much as=
 possible to work through the backlog as fast as possible. We are of course=
 refunding everyone whom we charged twice. We are unfortunately taking too=
 long to do this.=20

There are three solutions to the problem Alf encountered.

1. Stop the duplicate charges from happening
2. Issue refunds quickly
3. Keep the payer informed

-- Stop the duplicate charges from happening

In december the software we use to process credit card transactions started=
 to periodically produce errors (maybe every 1 in 200 payments). We submit=
 each credit card to an authorization center that tells us whether the=
 payment is authorized or declined. It appears that on an infrequent basis=
 we would not receive the correct information. They would send an Approval=
 to us and we would receive a Declined. Needless to say, this caused=
 problems. Given the number of transactions we process each day, a tiny=
 error such as this instantly becomes a huge problem.

Around late January we started getting emails from folks about double=
 charges (because they started receiving their credit card statements) and=
 we started looking to see what was happening. Around Mid February we=
 figured out what was causing the problem and just today I received a=
 revision to the software that should eliminate this problem.

-- Issue refunds quickly

We automate as much as possible and previous to this situation, the number=
 of refunds that we issued was always a very small number each month. It=
 takes quite a bit of time to issue a refund. We have to find the original=
 transaction in the database based upon whatever info has been provided by=
 the payer, back out the moneys that might have already been paid to various=
 authors, issue a refund to the payer, send the payer and those authors an=
 email describing the situation, make notes all over the place so that we=
 don't issue the refund multiple times. Easily it can take maybe 15 minutes=
 per refund. Because of these duplicates we have lots of refunds and a once=
 a week task has suddenly become a full time job.

I have been building software that helps to automate the task of issuing=
 these refunds and I purchased some faster computers to aid in doing the=
 time consuming searches for the data on the original transactions. These=
 two things have cut down the time to do a refund but it is still time=
 consuming and we are behind.

-- Keep the payer informed

One thing that we should have been doing and were not, was that we should=
 have told people when we received their refund request how it would get=
 dealt with and approximately how long it might take to issue the refund.=
 This my fault. I worked up a proceedure so that admin/support folks=
 transfered all refund requests to the person who does refunds but I forgot=
 to tell them to also send an email to the person requesting a refund to=
 keep them informed. Instead, all they received was our automated response.=
 The next email they would receive was when the refund was issued.=
 Unfortunately the time delay between request and refund had grown to where=
 people such as Alf were essentially left wondering what was happening.=20

This has been changed as of today.=20


-- Summary

We have not done a good job of keeping folks informed and that is changing.=
 We have purchased faster computers and are improving the refund software=
 routines to allow us to handle a refund faster. We think that the root=
 cause of the problem has been eliminated.

It is unfortunate that we allowed this situation to get to a point to where=
 people like Alf became "bitterly disappointed".

My appology,

Kee Nethery
Kagi

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 09:49:09 -0800
From: Ken Laskey <KENNETH.J.LASKEY@cpmx.saic.com>
Subject: more Symantec comments

I fully concur with Al Bloom's recent comments about Symantec.  Anyone who
has run into a really nasty Mac disk problem has had the experience where
the only way to solve the problem was to alternately run MacTools and
Norton.  And the only things we've seen for sure since Symantec has been
gobbling up other companies is that the other products tend to disappear
with no obvious improvement in the Symantec variety.  Can you spell
ANTITRUST?

Ken Laskey
kenneth.j.laskey@cpmx.saic.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 01:54:29 +1100
From: Bill Stanford <stanford@magna.com.au>
Subject: Need Advice on Upgrading/Replacing PowerBook 540

Info-Mac Digest V15 #56: Mike Blackwell <wcs@pnn.com> :

>I have a PB 540, 12MB RAM/340MB HD, and have recently been tempted by the
>240MHz PB 3400. However, its high price and poor external monitor support
>(the internal and external monitors cannot show different images: video
>mirroring is the best you can do) have made me think twice, so I'll
>probably wait for the 300MHz version in spring 1998, unless it's afflicted
>by the same problems. In the meantime, my 540 is starting to feel poky, so
>here's what I'd like to do:
>
>1. Add RAM. Memory Technologies (800-950-8411) has a 32MB SIMM for $199;
>   other sources may be able to meet or beat that.

This is Good <smile>  Wish I'd added 32M and not 16M to my own ppc PB540c.

>2. Upgrade the Processor. (Yes, I know the 540's puny bus speed is going
>   to be a bottleneck, but I can't afford a bigger bottle right now. :)
>   I have three main upgrade options:
>   a. Sonnet Technologies (800-786-6260) sells a full 66/33 68040 with FPU
>      for $249 (price after 68LC040 trade-in). This would be the cheapest
>      option, but the least gain, and I really wouldn't use the FPU much.
>   b. Sonnet also offers Apple's 100MHz 603e with 8MB for $399 (price after
>      trade-in). This would be the cheapest PPC upgrade, and the RAM would
>      be nice, but 100MHz is kinda lame these days, especially for a 603e.
>   c. Newer Technologies' 167MHz NuPowr upgrade sells for around $600 (with
>      no RAM) or $700 (with 8MB). It says it "replaces the 4MB 68040," so
>      it sounds like I would get 40MB on-board if I add a 32MB SIMM. Right?
>      I wonder if that's true of the Sonnet 100MHz/8MB upgrade as well. Oh,
>      if I get the NuPowr, the $80 trade-in rebate expires on March 31.
>      (P.S. Would either of the PPC upgrades include an FPU?)

a. as you say isn't very attractive.  And it does run hot, even if it's not
clock chipped.

Either the Apple 100Mhz board or the Newer 167Mhz board with 8M will give
you a total of 40M, since the Apple board has a standard 8M attached.  Both
these upgrades include an FPU in native ppc mode, but not in emulation.

One or the other _is_ worth doing - I'm very happy with the 100Mhz board,
which I got from IMAX for $260 odd - much cheaper at that time than the
Newer card.  Which to get depends on your needs - with the slow buses, the
dear 540 will never be a _fast_ computer again, but of course despite wait
states the brute power of 167Mhz does help.

>3. Upgrade the RAM Cache. Do I need to do this? What's the advantage? What
>   about price? And wouldn't a PPC upgrade come with a cache anyway?

None of the ppc upgrades include an L2 cache.  (People with 5300's are in
the same boat of course.)  This makes Speed Doubler (1.3.2 or 2.0.1) a
must, especially its SpeedAccess module, which by default raises the disk
cache (in the Memory CP) to 1500K odd, and can for many purposes make the
ppc 540 quite satisfying to work with.  SpeedEmulator from this package is
essential too; and of course one must try to run non-native software as
litlle as possible.  With 40M you won't need RAMDoubler unless you do large
print jobs, but it's still worth having VM set at 1M, just to keep memory
management more efficient - there's no speed hit I ever notice...

>4. Upgrade the VRAM, if possible. My current external monitor is
>   640x480x256, so the existing VRAM is fine. However, I'd like to drive 16
>   million colors (dithered web graphics are the pits :), or at least
>   thousands. Can this be done from a PB 540?

As I remember (without checking) this isn't possible.

>5. Upgrade the hard drive. The 340MB HD is okay, but as long as I have the
>   machine open, I might as well put in a gigabyte, assuming they make a
>   gig drive for the PB 500-series. I can't find any at my usual sources.

We're facing problems here as nobody much is making 2-1/2" SCSI drives now.
They're all IDE, though Apple has released a converter card... which slows
down the drive of course.

>6. Upgrade the internal monitor to active matrix color. Probably not
>   cost-effective, especially seeing as I'm still on the original NiCds,
>   which will face increased drain from the color monitor. Probably the
>   cheapest way to upgrade the monitor would be to buy a 540c equipped as
>   stated above and sell the 540. A new/refurbished 540c/20/500/19.2 goes
>   for around $2000; I should be able to get around $1200 for my 540.
>
>7. (My external modem is just fine for now, so I don't need an internal.)
>
>Bottom line: I know I can boost the 540 to its maximum power for far, far,
>FAR less than even the 3400/180's street price, and until the 300MHz
>version arrives in 1998, maxing out my 540 sounds like the best way to
>retain my investment. What do you think?

Yes. And maybe just live with the greyscale, using an external color
monitor might be the best thing for off road work...

HTH!

bill  <stanford@magna.com.au> <Bill_Stanford@knet.gol.com>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:59:49 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: Netscape/IE2.1... also, binaries in Usenet

At 1:22 AM -0500 3/9/97, David Roche wrote:
> How do I change my default browser from Netscape to IE2.1,
>so that when I click on a URL, IE2.1 will start instead of Netscape...

If this is in reference to Eudora's command-clicking, hold down the option
key when you cmd-click on an http URL, and you should get a dialog asking
you what browser you want to use.

For use with IceTee's command-clicking, open the Internet Config app, and
set your http helper application to MSIE.

chazl
03.10.97

------------------------------

Date: 10 Mar 1997 13:54:55 -0500
From: "Castle, Mike" <mike.castle@mhrigw.mhri.med.umich.edu>
Subject: PB 100 batteries?

Hi!

I'm still using a PB 100.  Unfortunately, the last of my four batteries is
dead and I'm not sure where to find new ones.  Are PB 100 batteries still
available anywhere?  I'd prefer the kind (internal lead-acid) that is
installed inside the computer, but I'm also curious whether VST ThinPack or
similar types of batteries are still available.  Please suggest sources of
these batteries if you know of any.

In addition, my PB 100 won't keep date and time when I shut down.  The three
3V lithium batteries seem to be working fine.  Would this problem be caused
by a dead lead-acid battery?  Or could it be a blown fuse?  Something else?
The computer only works when plugged in (I have one of the new AC adapters
that Apple offered free of charge a year or two ago).  I've tried resetting
the Power Manager (following instructions in an old MacUser), but that
doesn't help.  If I want accurate date and time, I must set them after each
boot.

Thanks for your help!

Mike Castle
ncdh@umich.edu

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 12:10:26 -0400
From: "Paul L. Moses" <theseus@dgs.dgsys.com>
Subject: Photoshop 3.03 crash

Hi,

I've had a weird crash with Photoshop 3.03.  I just upgraded from a
Centris 650 to a PowerMac 7600/132.  24 megs of ram, sys 7.5.5.

Installed Photoshop and everything was fine.

Then installed Adobe Acrobat and suddenly Photoshop would crash the
entire system when I quit.  Traced the problem to ATM 3.83.  Went back
to 3.6 and no crash.

So then I reinstalled the Vista Scan drivers for my UMAX S12 scanner.
Now the 'crash on quit' problem is back.

I'm guessing that the Vista Scan installer added some older (7.5.3
vintage) system files, like an older version of ColorSync.  Anyone seen
this happen?  Any ideas on what to do?

TIA

Paul

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 10:14:11 +0100
From: Jacob Palme <jpalme@dsv.su.se>
Subject: picture clipping, type=clpp creator=drag

I recently got sent to me by e-mail a graphic in a new graphic format
called picture clipping, typecode=clpp, creator=drag.

This is a graphic format I have never seen before. It is apparently
displayed by finder, I do not have to open any special software to
view it.

How do I create graphics of this format?

What are the propoerties of this format? Bitmapped 72 dpi?

I guess objects of this format cannot be read on other platforms than
Macintosh?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 12:02:30 -0500
From: Chaz Larson <chaz@visi.com>
Subject: PopChar

At 8:33 PM -0500 3/9/97, Steven Colucci, Ph.D. wrote:
>Anyone know where I can find a more recent version of PopChar by G.
>Blaschek (sp?). Had an older version that doesn't seem to work w/Power
>Mac.  I find myself mssing it more than I thought.  TIA

This:
<http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/cgi-bin/NewSearch?key=popchar>

should give you a link to PopChar Lite 2.7.2 and PopChar Pro 1.0.

Here's the PopChar home page:
<http://www.unisoft.co.at/e/products/popchar.html>

chazl
03.10.97

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:28:34 -0500 (EST)
From: "Stuart A. Vyse" <savys@conncoll.edu>
Subject: powerbook keyboard

I have a Powerbook 540C which, in most respects is just fine for me,
but I hate the keyboard. Not because of the bunched arrangement
of keys found on most laptops. I can live with that. I hate it
because the keys are very difficult to work, frequently jam, and
are generally a pain.

Short of buying another machine, does anyone out there know of
a solution to this problem?

Stuart A. Vyse, Ph.D. | Dept. of Psychology | (860) 439-2339
Associate Professor   | Connecticut College | savys@conncoll.edu

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 09:22:38 -0800 (PST)
From: Raman Uppal <uppal@unixg.ubc.ca>
Subject: Printing special characters on HP 5MP

My HP Laserjet 5 MP printer, connected to a PowerPC 7500/100, running
System 7.5.5 does not print special characters such as " =84 " (that is,
option + >) in Times font, but does when using Symbol font. This problem
seems to have occurred after I updated to the the recent print driver (v
8.3.1) for the HP Laserjet.  If you know how to fix this, could you send an
email to uppal@ubc.ca.

Thank you.

Raman Uppal

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 12:18:33 -0600
From: Dana Muller <dana@mattmccoy.com>
Subject: RD2/Quickdraw 3d conflict-->IE3/simpletext crash

Following is a copy of a message I just sent to Connectix and Apples online
support discussion groups. I would be very interested to know if anyone can
duplicate this--I'm on a Powerbase 180, 32MB "real" memory, sys. 7.6, and
this is with RamDoubler 2.01:

I believe I am experiencing a conflict between RamDoubler and Quickdraw 3D
(both version 1.06 and 1.5). This shows up as a type 11 error crash when I
am using Internet Explorer 3.0 and Simpletext 1.3.x under the following
specific circumstances: I launch IE, then Simpletext *from a document*,
then quit IE, then attempt to quit Simpletext. Simpletext will crash with a
type 11 error. It must be in that order, and I must open Simpletext from a
document rather than directly from the application. I get the same crash in
IE if the order of opening and quitting is changed to: open Simpletext,
open IE, quit Simpletext, attempt to quit IE. It does not occur if only
Simpletext is launched, and I have not yet found any other application but
Explorer that leads to the crash. No PPP connection need be running, nor
any other application (ie, I should have plenty of real memory available).

I can reduce extensions to only 7.6 extensions (including Quickdraw 3d),
RamDoubler, and the MS Internet Library (required for Explorer) and still
get the crash. If I turn off either RamDoubler or Quickdraw 3D, I have no
problems. I have trashed all relevant preferences and reinstalled Quickdraw
with no success. I also had this problem under 7.5.5.

Quickdraw 3D is a shared library, which explains the connection between
Simpletext and Explorer.

Dana Muller                                     Matthew Medical Books
(314) 432-1401 x389                             http://www.mattmccoy.com

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 10:58:02 GMT
From: Pascal.Gaulin@cambridge.simoco.com (Pascal Gaulin 6335)
Subject: Removing QuickDraw GX - My Experience

Hi all,

Following a request in a recent Info-Mac and assuming that more and more people
will decide to get rid of QuickDraw GX, I wish to share my experience regarding
that matter.

I own a PowerBook 520c running MacOS 7.5.5 with 12Mbytes of RAM, an internal
Fax/Modem and no Printer. Memory is such an expensive resource on this machine
that I decided a couple of months ago to scrap QuickDraw GX which, anyway, was
not of any use to me.

1/ I first disabled the GX Fax driver and enabled the 'normal' one instead. I
would have done the same with a Printer driver if I had one. I also disabled
the ColorSync extension as this one works with QuickDraw GX.

2/ The System 7.5 documentation says that while QuickDraw GX is enabled, Type 1
fonts are saved in a sub-folder of the System Folder and that they have to be
restored if the user wants to get rid of GX.
I consequently saved the current fonts in a temporary folder, restored the
single saved Type 1 font I had (that is I flushed all fonts from the fonts
folder and moved the saved one in it) and scraped the saved Type 1 fonts
folder.

3/ After re-starting the computer, I got an alert message about missing
PostScripts fonts for Adobe Acrobat Reader. I then re-installed this software
and started again.

4/ No warning message that time but all applications looked pretty weird.
Obviously, I did not have all the requested fonts. No panic, I saved the old
fonts folder. I just dropped a few more fonts onto the System folder and
started again.

5/ No warning again, applications looked much better. I then dropped all
missing fonts from the saved old fonts folder onto the System folder, scrapped
it and re-started.

6/ Everything is fine. I now have the same fonts as I used to, plus several
Adobe PostScript fonts, presumably installed by Acrobat Reader.

Conclusion: I gained 1Mbytes RAM and my PowerBook works just as good as it used
to. The only difference is that I haven't got the Fax desktop icon anymore but
I really don't care. I've been told that 'enabling' a Type 1 font for GX is
just a matter of combining the PostScript information with the bitmap into a
single file. Hence, the need for Acrobat Reader to install the separate
PostScript after I disabled GX.

Hope this help,

	Pascal.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 15:43:57 -0400
From: "Michael Kazlow" <mkazlow@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: System 7.6 thoughts

Al,
I always recommend that anyone with a single hard drive reformat the drive
into at least two partitions and place NUT, MacTools, and DiskFirst Aid onto
each partition. That way when you boot of an emergency floppy you can always
try to fix each partition by running the utilities available on the other.
Will it help when both have been fried beyond repair. Nope. But that is why
god invented backups.

...Mike

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 22:41:40 +0100
From: Christian F Buser <cbuser@access.ch>
Subject: System software for Mac Plus (R)

Jerry KLinkosh <rndfeet@wi.net> wrote

> I would like to know what is available for the Mac Plus.
> Looking for operating systems 6.0 or 6.8. for the Mac Plus.

System 6.0.5, 6.0.7 and 6.0.8 work on the MacPlus, as well
as System 7.0.1 - I didn't try the newer releases of System 7.

System 6 versions should be available on Apple's ftp sites
for free.

Best wishes, Christian.

cbuser@access.ch -- http://www.access.ch/mus/members/cbuser

--------------------------------

--Info-Mac-Digest--

End of Info-Mac Digest
******************************