INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA (Moderator William J. Berner) (02/26/86)
INFO-MAC Digest Wednesday, 26 Feb 1986 Volume 4 : Issue 18
Today's Topics:
Mac's Real Baud Rate
Crash recovery
RAMdisk recovery
Crash recovery and RAM Disks
Ramstarter
Combined PackIt/archive-compressor
Panic button
Shrink MockTerminal, etc.
Install menu-sorting resource
[Nathaniel Polish <polish@lexington.columbia.edu>: Mac question]
RFC: proposal to create "Special_Interest" sub-groups
RE: Borland announces Turbo Pascal for the Macintosh
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 25 FEB 86 11:52-EDT
From: KURAS%BCVAX3.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
Subject: Mac's Real Baud Rate
In response to the ongoing discussion about the Mac's actual serial port
speed, let me add a few comments.
I have no difficulty believing that the Mac's effective maximum data trans-
mission speed is around 7200 Baud when the Mac is busy writing to the screen,
but the limitation here is the Mac's ability to draw the screen quickly, not its
ability to send data out the serial port quickly. The top speed for sending and
receiving data IS 19,200 Baud, assuming the processor has nothing else to do.
Keeping up at that speed would be difficult for any microprocessor with as
much to do as the Mac's 68000. That chip is a busy piece of silicon.
With respect to timing your effective speed, the "send a file and divide"
method is okay, but it must be borne in mind that this will be a measure of
your effective FILE TRANSFER speed, with all the slowdowns associated with
error checking protocols included, and none of the slowdowns associated with
updating the screen. If the slowdowns are approximately equal, you get lucky,
but you can't be sure that this will be the case. Also remember that the
AMOUNT of data sent when transferring a file is greater than the size of the
file for exactly the same reasons: error checking protocols add bits to every
byte. So use that method to calculate your file transfer speed, but don't be
fooled into believing that that number will be equal to your effective text
reception speed. It probably won't. And neither number will be as great as
your selected baud rate.
Pat Kuras
Boston College
<KURAS@BCVAX3.BITNET>
------------------------------
Date: 25 Feb 1986 1130-PST
From: STERNLIGHT@USC-ECL.ARPA
Subject: Crash recovery
In Info-Mac digest of 25 February, Werner Uhrig reported on a hardware
card that allowed recovery of one's ramdisk after reset. There is a
much cheaper and simpler alternative; Mac + Magazine has a program
(which installs itself) or a resource (which you install in the system
file with ResEdit) called Crash Saver. Once installed, on most
bombs, you press the REAR, or interrupt key on the programmer's
switch and Hey!, Presto! you're back in the Finder. Or you can
press it almost anytime for the same result. I have been using it
happily on my Mac Plus with a Ramdisk and it works fine for about
3 out of 4 bombs. It becomes practical to run with a pretty
big (I use 680k) ramdisk on a 1 meg Mac Plus, and most applications
run fine in the remaining memory. Without the problem of having
to reload the RAMDisk constantly, you can keep a set of applications
and the system file in RAM and run for days at a time with instant
launching and return to the Finder.
--david--
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 12:10 PST
From: Dave Platt <Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA>
Subject: RAMdisk recovery
Hmmm. I have a feeling that the new ROMs will always perform a complete
(and destructive) memory scan of everything from 0 up through the first
missing address, or up to the 4 megabyte limit, depending on the size of
RAM.
Here are some possible solutions:
1) Have an inboard RAM card whose address lies well above the top of
the Mac's built-in memory. Presumably, the memory scan will stop
as soon as the first non-present address is encountered; thus,
the special-purpose card would not be initialized and would retain
its previous contents.
2) Use either of two different public-domain hacks to keep the memory
intact by avoiding the need for a full RESET. You could use either
"SYSALERT" (also called Bomb Recovery), or CrashSaver. SYSALERT is
a resource that you can paste into your System file; it adds some
additional information to the standard bomb box [interpretation of
the bomb code into English, and a register dump], and provides a
new button marked "Finder" that, when pressed, performs an
ExitToShell. Thus, if your program bombs, you simply push "Finder",
and can usually escape to the Finder without needing to reboot.
Or, use Crash Saver. This is a little utility that [I think] patches
a new INIT resource into your System. The net effect is that some
code is hooked into the interrupt-switch trap handler, which simply
performs an ExitToShell. So... if you're running along, and your
program hangs or bombs, just press Interrupt (the rear switch) and
you'll go back to the finder.
I don't know whether either of these hacks works properly with the new
ROMs... but if not, I imagine that someone will probably produce a
version fairly soon that does.
------------------------------
Date: 25 FEB 86 21:57-EDT
From: KURAS%BCVAX3.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
Subject: Crash recovery and RAM Disks
In response to Werner Uhrig's note about RAM disk recovery software, I have
uploaded a program called Bomb Shelter. This is a very small utility written by
John D. Child, formerly of Boston College and currently of General Electric.
The program is designed to return you to the Finder after a crash, rather than
reversing the effect of a reset. The program works with both RAM disks and with
any software running from disk. It is not 100% effective, but it will recover
from most common System Errors, usually leaving RAM intact, depending on the
nature of the crash.
To use the Bomb Shelter, run the program at the beginning of a session (it
must be reinstalled each time the machine is turned on or restarted). When a
bomb occurs, press the INTERRUPT button (not the reset button). Bomb Shelter
should return you to the Finder.
I have tried the Bomb Shelter briefly on the Mac Plus. It seems to work under
certain circumstances and not under others. You'll have to try it out. I
believe the Bomb Shelter was developed primarily as a developer's tool, but
if it works with your RAM disk, why not use it?
One thing: The Bomb Shelter is noncommercial and free, but it is not public
domain. You are free to distribute it to whomever you wish, but the author
retains his claim to the program's creation.
Pat Kuras
Boston College Mac User Group
<KURAS@BCVAX3.BITNET>
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>UTILITY-BOMBSHELTER.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 21:59:19 cst
From: Kurt Hansen <hansen%uiowa.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>
Subject: Ramstarter
I have Nelson's Ramstarter program, but don't have my Mac+ yet. For those
of you having trouble with HFS and this program, I suggest the following
as a temporary fix:
start up your ram disk empty!
The result will be that your boot disk will still be in use, and you will
have to copy to the ram disk manually. However, there should be no problem
with simply getting it to start, since no files have to be copied/found.
If someone gets this to work, post it!
I think the problem is that the Ramstarter program copies System and Finder
into a folder where HFS can't find it. Like I said though, my Mac+ isn't
here yet, so this is speculation.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 16:14 PST
From: Dave Platt <Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA>
Subject: Combined PackIt/archive-compressor
Harry Chesley, author of the popular shareware utility PackIt, is
apparently beginning work on PackIt II. It will provide the same
pack-several-files-into-one capability that PackIt supplies, and will
also be capable of compressing the resulting file for storage &
transmission (as Parer, Compressor, and Shrink To Fit do).
Given the popularity of PackIt, the new utility will probably become
a de facto standard for Macintosh file compression & archiving. I'll
post a copy to Info-Mac as soon as I receive one (assuming, of course,
that it's not offered as a commercial product-for-pay... knowing Harry,
it'll probably be free).
------------------------------
Sender: Platt@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 19:13 MST
From: Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: Panic button
Paste this FKEY resource into your System file with ResEdit, or
install it with the Dreams of the Phoenix FKEY Installer. It
provides you with a panic-button FKEY. Shareware ($2).
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>UTILITY-PANICBUTTON.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
Sender: Platt@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 19:14 MST
From: Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: Shrink MockTerminal, etc.
This little utility comes from CE Software, the authors of MockWrite,
MockTerminal, and so forth. It will remove the order form from the
"About Mockwhatever" menu item, thus saving you about 3k of disk space
per desk accessory (it modifies the copy in your System file... not
in the font/DA-mover file). It's approved for free distribution as long as
it's not modified.
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>UTILITY-SHRINKMOCK.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
Sender: Platt@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 19:15 MST
From: Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: Install menu-sorting resource
This application is a modified version of Andy Hertzfeld's "sort
the Apple menu" patch STMenu. Like STMenu, it ensures that your
desk accessories will appear in alphabetic order, regardless of
the order in which you installed them. Unlike STMenu, it only
needs to be run once; it installs the menu-sorting code as an
INIT resource, so that your menu will automatically be sorted
whenever you reboot. Not necessary on the Mac Plus or on a system
with the 128k ROMs, as the menu manager does this sorting
automatically.
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>UTILITY-MENUSORT.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
Date: Tue 25 Feb 86 19:32:46-PST
From: Gustavo Fernandez <FERNANDEZ@SU-SUSHI.ARPA>
Subject: [Nathaniel Polish <polish@lexington.columbia.edu>: Mac
Subject: question]
Can somebody help my friend?
---------------
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 86 12:31:19 est
From: Nathaniel Polish <polish@lexington.columbia.edu>
To: fernandez@su-sushi.arpa
Cc: polish@lexington.columbia.edu
Subject: Mac question
I am trying to include MacDraw figures in a Scribe document. I have
succeeded in getting the Mac to generate a Postscript file via the
command F function. This, however, creates a file which wants to print
a whole page. I want just the top part till the figure ends. I glanced
at the file and there seems to be some stuff to page feed. Can you
recommend a course of action?
note: I solved the problem of getting the figure into Scribe it just is
a whole page figure.
------------------------------
Date: Wed 26 Feb 86 06:51:03-CST
From: Werner Uhrig <CMP.WERNER@R20.UTEXAS.EDU>
Subject: RFC: proposal to create "Special_Interest" sub-groups
Friends,
in order to help reduce the moderating load and to avoid another
early burn-out of the new moderators,
and in order to seperate special-interest discussion to avoid
boring those not interested, and to increase participation and postings
by those that hesitate to clutter the "general" INFO-MAC and "net.micro.mac"
boards with long messages about obscure details,
and in order to create a better support-network among those "few"
with special-interests or problems like third-party upgrades and hard-disks,
and possibly even Apple-stuff, like Mac+ and LaserWriter upgrades, etc
(SIGs for different software products come to mind)
I would like to propose the creation of sub-groups, SIGs, run by
people at different sites as mailing-lists (for the time being),
which, if demand justifies can be digested and or moderated.
Occasional summaries of important info should be posted to the
general bboard INFO-MAC and old messages archived somewhere (if
possible in subdirectories of INFO-MAC on SUMEX-AIM for convenience,
or elsewhere if disk-space limitations or maintainance problems
require it)
Personally, I am interested in third-party upgrades (in particular
TheMax 1.5 and 2 Meg, and Centa's 1-2Meg), TECMAR Hard-Disks,
and would like to establish communications with those of you with
like interests (or predicaments ...(-:-), which, in particular
with the terrible track-record of *NON*support by TECMAR could turn
into muscle in dealing with that company to convince them to change
their unresponsive ways on the phone or, at least, find someone for
whom calling them is a local call rather than LD.
To start this rolling I invite your responses, regarding the
idea in general, and especially from those of you with third-party
Megabyte upgrades and/or TECMAR-Winnies, as I'd be especially
willing and interested to create the redistribution-magic for
this SIG. Also, requests for other SIGs and volunteers to
"manage" one are solicited. Anyone with WARP-9 internal HDs,
and beta-testers of the Three-in-One board by Human Touch,
I'd like to hear from you!!
Please note, that handling participants from other nets, other
countries, etc, is no particular problem anymore. Lately matters
seem to have became a lot more reliable (knock on wood), and
I've been reasonably succesful in communicating with people on
ARPAnet, USEnet, DECnet, CSnet, BITnet, etc .... I only wished
there was a way to include people on commercial nets like Delphi,
CompuServe, TheWell, PeopleLink, etc. Any ideas, anyone?
Cheers, ---Werner
ARPA: werner@utexas-20.ARPA alias werner@r20.utexas.edu
UUCP: werner@ut-ngp.UUCP alias ut-sally!ut-ngp!werner
or, preferably, via your nearest ARPA-gateway:
....!arpa-gateway!werner%utexas-20
or ....!arpa-gateway!werner@utexas-20
PS: creation of sub-news-groups on USENET is possibility if traffic
and demand for it justifies. Handling traffic from different
nets would be a problem, though, which would require extra
mailer-magic I'm not very familiar with.
------------------------------
Date: 26 Feb 86 07:56 EST
From: <MIKEC%MECE5.decnet@ge-crd.arpa>
Subject: RE: Borland announces Turbo Pascal for the Macintosh
FYI - I called Borland International yesterday (2/25) to ask about Turbo
Pascal for the Mac. According to the woman I spoke to, it will be released
sometime in the second quarter of this year. No price has been set.
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End of INFO-MAC Digest
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