[net.micro.mac] Bugs Crash MacTerminal 1.1 ??

wh@houxz.UUCP (W.HEINMILLER) (12/14/84)

[Will this bug go away if I spray the system with Malathion?]

I've been encountering some interesting behavior when using Version 1.1 of
MacTerminal, and thought I'd report it to the net to see if anyone else has
encountered it.  Occasionally, while listing a Unix text file, or reading mail
or news, MacTerminal freezes.  None of the keys on the keyboard generate
anything, in either local or on-line mode.  The keycaps desk accessory isn't
capable of generating any characters, either.  I am able to pull down all the
menus and select any menu entry.  If I select "reset", then MacTerminal goes to
lunch totally, and I lose even the ability to work menus.  The mouse/cursor
still moves, but the rest of the screen is frozen.

I'm using a release 1.1 of MacTerminal.  It happens both when using an
AppleModem 1200 and when using Bell 212A Dataphone (wow, a "REAL" 212A modem!).
It also has occured on different Macs.  (That's why I figure the MacTerminal
software is the only possiblity left as the source of the problem.) I have
tried to generate the problem using -0.15X MacTerminal, and it doesn't happen.
The MacTerminal documents of the trashed sessions are recoverable only about
half the time.

We do tend to have problems with noisy phone lines once in a while.  I have
been able to duplicate the effect by listing a Unix files with lots of control
characters in it, and generating a break (enter key) from the keyboard.  This
blows up the 1.1 version of MacTerminal, but not the -0.15X version.  I suspect
the problem with text files comes from a "hit" on the phone line that looks
like a control character to the Mac.  But I don't understand why 1.1 would be
sensitive to this and -0.15X wouldn't be.

We have a number of Macs here, and I'm concerned about this problem "turning
off" some of our less experienced computer users.  If anyone else has
encountered this, I'd like to hear about it.  If anyone knows of a solution,
I'd like to hear it, too.  Thanks!

		Wayne Heinmiller	Bell Communications Research
		houxz!wh		Freehold, NJ
		(201) 577-4159