info-mac@uw-beaver (03/25/85)
From: Moderator John Mark Agosta <INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA>
INFO-MAC Digest Monday, 25 Mar 1985 Volume 2 : Issue 21
Today's Topics:
Bboard conventions
MacFortran correction
Mac PSL
bug in Finder3.0X QuickQuit
How to open a banana!
MacPaint-style tool windows
The IM Underground Volume #1
Mac Video Output?
PC Network mail order house
dot matrix printers for mac
Lisps?
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Date: Sun 24 Mar 85 13:21:34-PST
From: John Mark Agosta <INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA>
Subject: bboard conventions.
Dear Reader:
Here's a list that answers about 90% of the queries that I receive:
Adding and deleting names from the info-mac distribution: I
distribute info-mac to about 140 *sites*, where it is redistributed to
individuals. Please check with your local site about having your name
added or removed before contacting info-mac-request. In most cases if
your site does not receive info-mac I will ask you to set up a
site-wide redistribution address. In addition CSNET has its own
redistribution via postmaster@csnet-relay.arpa (Charlotte Moore ) as
does BITNET, via gg.jdn@stanford.bitnet (Jim Nisbet). They maintain
lists for those networks. There are other networks also that
redistribute info-mac about which I don't have a complete
redistribution point address.
A current description of info-mac is available (over arpa net ftp) in
the file <info-mac>00README. Likewise a (soon to be annotated) copy
of the directory listing can be found in 00DIR. Other documentation
exists in various places, like DOWNLOAD.DOC, which notably is missing
anything about the Compuserve hex, hcx or hqx formats.
You may notice that the digester program wraps and fills text to fit
on 70 character lines. It also removes embedded spaces and tabs. This
wreaks havoc with most tables. Until this is fixed, keep this
limitation in mind.
There are two ways to undigestify info-mac that I am aware of. One is
the -d option in unix readnews. The other is an extended command in
BABYL - which is a mail reader written for EMACS. Any other extensions
to common mailers (especially MM) that anyone is aware of would be
appreciated greatly by other readers.
Undigestifiers look for lines begining with a dash between two blank
lines to delimit message boundaries. The byte stuffing procedure
suggested in RFC822 would allow you to put lines like this within
messages. Until I implement that its probably a good idea not to begin
salutations, etc in a way that might confuse them, i.e. with lines
beginning with dashes.
Please send to info-mac@sumex things you'd like to see posted, and to
info-mac-request the things you want to tell me. Follow this and it
will save me much sorting through my inboxes.
Now, back to the main ring -jma
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 85 14:59:10 est
From: mtu!russell@Glacier (Russell Reid)
Subject: MacFortran correction
I posted a bug claim about MacFortran about a week ago: the error
is mine. I was downloading programs that had been built up using both
uppercase only and lowercase terminals. I never realized that
MacFortran is *** CASE SENSITIVE ***. At least partly so: lowercase
if is the same as uppercase IF, but lowercase variable named i is
DIFFERENT than uppercase variable named I. In an implicitly typed
language, that can go unnoticed all too easily... Since it is NOT
standard Fortran to be case sensitive, and also since the editor that
comes with MacFortran cannot be made to distinguish case, I got
persuaded that MacFortran was not doing the right thing. Ah, well.
In the meantime, so many different things seemed to be screwing up
that I decided my copy must be defective.
So all you folks with working copies can relax...
Debug often reports an error as just "75", and I can't find a list of
errors anywhere. Did I miss something?
For interest's sake: I wrote a program in MacPascal to calculate
results for an interval start cross-country ski race. (I used
MacPascal because it was the only program I had.) It read 350 names,
addresses, starttimes, etc from disk, read finish times, sorted by
time, age class, sex, etc and printed it all out. It took 30 minutes
to run. I wrote the same thing in MacFortran, and ran it on the same
data exactly. It took 25 seconds. Hmmm. (Neither includes the actual
printing time).
Russell Reid Michigan Technological University
------------------------------
Date: 23 Mar 1985 11:31-EST
From: Dominique.Carrega@CMU-RI-ISL2.ARPA
Subject: Mac PSL
I just recieved a review copy of Mac PSL from the University of Utah.
Here are my reactions:
Great. I really enjoyed it. I haven't seen ExperLisp yet so I can't
really make a comparison but this is a beautiful little Lisp.
Good points:
1. Good implementation of the Mac user interface. There are
two windows, "Output" and the editor. The editor is a simple cut &
paste except that it does parentheses matching (*very* useful). Text
can be highlighted and sent down to the output window for evaluation
either by highlighting the text and selecting "evaluate" or "stuff
region" or simply by putting the cursor on the line you wish evaluated
and typing command-e. The output window cannot be used for any
editing. Characters are evaluated as they are typed in so even
backspace won't work. However, the output window automatically
evaluates an expression as soon as all parentheses are closed.
2. Reasonable Price. The price has not been fixed. My
version is a beta (0.4 beta) but Mac PSL should be released very soon.
I have been told that it will not be sold for over $100. I think it
is well worth that much.
3. Good documentation. My disk came with documentation about
three inches thick, but most of this was reprints of articles on the
PSL project. The actual Mac PSL documentation is good for Lisp
hackers. Also included is a tutorial on Mac PSL (I only have a draft
version) on disk. This is simply a bunch of Lisp code with everything
explained in detail in comments. This file can be loaded into the
editor and each example can be highlighted and evaluated to see the
result. I like it.
4. Good Lisp. This is *not* a full implementation of Portable
Standard Lisp. It is a subset, but a good one. Serious Lisp hackers
may want to buy ExperLisp, I don't really know. However, I think this
is excellent for learning Lisp. It is roughly Common Lisp compatible.
It provides vectors, lists, identifyers (symbols), integers and
strings. It also has some nice control structures, although nothing
really fancy. It has a couple map functions, catch and throw, let,
and a while function. I think it is quite usable.
5. Can be used on a 128K Mac. The people at Utah actually
claimed that I would need a 512K Mac. I was able to make use of PSL
on a 128K, although I will probably need 512K for large functions. I
couldn't use most desk accessories because of lack of memory.
6. No copy protection. I don't think they will be copy
protecting the released version. My beta was unprotected.
The only bad point are that it is only a subset. I have been
told that ExperLisp is a full Common Lisp. I don't know if that is
true but if it is, some people will want to go with that instead of
Mac PSL.
Future versions (for 512K) may include a compiler and tool box
access as well as a larger set of PSL functions. No release date for
the above items was given to me.
Mac PSL seems to be mainly the work of two people: Robert
Kessler (kessler@utah-20) and John W. Peterson (jw-peterson@utah-20).
Of course, many more people were invloved in developing the original
PSL stuff.
-Dan Zigmond
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 85 18:21:51 pst
From: Harry Saal <hjs@Lindy>
Subject: bug in Finder3.0X QuickQuit
The QuickQuit feature of 3.0X displays the names and icons of a
selected set of applications that you can transfer to (e.g. the famed
MiniFinder approach) and bypass the actual Finder setup.
My version of 3.0X does NOT display the "generic application" icon for
applications which have no private icon, e.g. many of the INFO-MAC
packages, such as MacKermit, etc. etc. Instead, it displays white
space.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 85 01:58:26 pst
From: chavez%ucbcory@Berkeley (Thomas M. Chavez)
Subject: How to open a banana!
To John, Chris, and Seymour:
Here is a set of instructions to use to get the Banana PC Jr. 6000
System run- ning on your Macintosh!
1. Initialize a nice new disk and put a system and finder on it.
2. Download all of the banana files onto this disk.
3. Run binhex4.0 on the startup and desktop files. Yes, you want to
replace the desktop file. The converted file will NOT appear on
your desktop.
4. Change to another disk's System and Finder by
option-command-double-clicking on the finder of another disk.
This will allow you to delete the system and finder from your
banana disk.
Do this now.
Note: It may seem a waste of time to put a system and finder on a
disk and then to delete them, but it doesn't seem to work any
other way!
5. Now run binhex4.0 on the remaining two files--the
finder and the system.
6. Go ahead and delete all of the document files. Remaining on
the desktop should be the finder, the system, an empty
folder (or empty file cabinet)
and maybe binhex4.0 (if you transfered it to this disk).
7. Now reset your system, sit back, and enjoy the show!
Good luck on finding all of the changes! There is little that was
left as it originally came! No cheating by using the resource
editor!!
Tom Chavez chavez@BERKELEY
------------------------------
Date: Wednesday, 20 March 1985 23:36:11 EST
From: Peter.Monta@cmu-cs-g.arpa
Subject: MacPaint-style tool windows
I need to implement a window very much like the one in MacPaint and
several other programs that shows a selection of modes. One is
highlighted to show the current mode, and the user may click on a
different one to change mode, unhighlighting the old and highlighting
the new.
The best way would be for each selection to be a control. It would
have almost exactly the same functionality as a check box; only a
different indication of state is needed. I imagine the stuff inside
the control could be put in the refCon field. Is this a reasonable
thing to do? Does such code already exist? Wouldn't this be a good
variation code for the standard button control definition function?
Peter Monta monta@cmu-cs-g
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 85 14:14:46 EST
From: Scott_Wiener%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: The IM Underground Volume #1
I recently ran across something that I think all Mac-Hackers should
be aware of -- The IM Undergound #1. I received a copy last week and
I spent the entire weekend printing their stuff out (my poor
Imagewriter!).
The disk contains some great stuff!
o Schematics for the Mac (MacPaint format).
o Documents describing different aspects of the Hardware.
o Disassembly listings of the various ROM's (the 8021, etc...).
o Articles on how to do your own 512K (and beyond) upgrade!
o A document that explains what all the resources in the System
file are for
The guys have done a great job! They mention that volume #2 should
be out in a month or so. The disk costs $25 (make checks payable to
'The IM Underground'):
The IM Underground
715 Church Street #16
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
-siw
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 85 23:12:50 EST
From: Peter DiCamillo <PETER%BROWNVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA>
Subject: Mac Video Output?
I discovered the following item in the April issue of "Macworld":
Mac Video
"You may not realize that you can record Macintosh images on your
VCR. Connect the Mac to your television by running a
communications
cable from the serial port; attach the cable at the television
end
with an RGB connector, which is available at most electronics
stores. You can tape a sequence of drawings in MacPaint, for
example, on a videocassette and add a sound track to create your
own music video. ..."
My first reaction to this was that it must be an April Fool's joke, as
appears in some magazines. But as far as I can tell, it is intended
to be completely serious. Does anybody know about this? In an
unmodified Macintosh, is the video signal available in some form at
either of the serial connectors? If so, which pins are used and what
kind of signal is provided?
Peter DiCamillo PETER@BROWNVM.BITNET PETER%BROWNVM@WISCVM.ARPA
------------------------------
From: fine%psuvaxg.BITNET@ucb-vax.arpa
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 85 01:27:29 est
Subject: PC Network mail order house
Someone asked about PC Network, a mail-order computer store. My
experience with them has not been good. I have not had extensive
dealings with PC Network, but I have ordered an external disk drive
and Sargon III for the IBM PC from them.
My main complaint is that the items were not delivered on time. PC
Network claims delivery should take 2-4 weeks, longer for items from
Apple. However, neither of my items arrived on time. I don't know
how long delivery would have taken; I canceled each order when it was
two weeks late. A friend of mine ordered Mac Pascal and eventually
canceled his order because it too was late.
Also, the customer service line (not the order line) is hard to reach.
It is busy almost continuously. This is the number you must call to
check the status of an order or to cancel an order.
I now feel that for me the aggravation and waiting involved in
ordering from PC Network is not worth the savings (the various charges
do add up). Of course, you may have better luck with them.
Steve Fine fine@psuvax1!gondor.uucp
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 85 13:30:03 EST
From: Tom Russell <EN301034%BROWNVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA>
Reply-to: EN301034%BROWNVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA
Subject: dot matrix printers for mac
Does anyone have experience with using other dot matrix printers with
the mac? I know that Okidata has a mac compatible and Toshiba P1340
is compatible with software driver but shrinks pictures by 10% in the
vertical direction. What about Epson FX or RX series or one of the
new letter quality Epson printers? I would like to buy an Imagewriter
compatible printer that also has a letter quality mode and would be
willing to spend a little extra. Thanks, Tom Russell
EN301034%BROWNVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA
------------------------------
Date: 23 Mar 1985 12:35:02-EST
From: Dominique.Carrega@CMU-RI-ISL2
Subject: Lisps
A+ magazine has told me that they are "intereseted" in an article
comparing all the modern Lisps for the Macintosh. If you know of any
besides the following, please let me know so I can include them:
XLISP 1.4
ExperLisp
Mac PSL
Charles Vollum's little InterLisp (not very
modern)
-Daniel Zigmond (zigmond@c)
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End of INFO-MAC Digest
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