INFO-MAC@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU.UUCP (03/30/87)
INFO-MAC Digest Sunday, 29 Mar 1987 Volume 5 : Issue 71
Today's Topics:
Re: TextEdit length limitations
Re: Reset, keyboards on new machines
RE: SE with Dark Castle & SmartAlarms
MacApp Distribution License
Problems with System 4.0/Finder 5.4 and Copy II Mac
Bomb of the week
Unix Windows: setuid query
Word 3.0 stop nagging...
re Mac -> HP Laserjet:
VMS/Vax as Mac, PC file server
SPICE for Mac?
Fullwrite Professional, anyone..?
Rage about Apple's PC/AppleTalk card & software
Terminal Emulators and Control Codes (Flame)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 87 15:12:09 CST
From: srb%mycroft@gswd-vms.ARPA (Steve Bunch)
Subject: Re: TextEdit length limitations
Note that 90 - 64 is around 27. Wraparound of the integer count is a
possible explanation of your truncation.
------------------------------
Date: 28 Mar 87 13:42:09 PST (Saturday)
From: Piersol.PASA@Xerox.COM
Subject: Re: Reset, keyboards on new machines
>-On a related note, are there any good software packages for the Mac+
>that allow the user to easily keep a set of different keyboard maps and
>interchange them? As an example, I generally like the < and > to be
>mapped to , and in a word processor but not otherwise. I know how to
>change the keycodes but that is neither fast nor clean.
Patrick,
Let me suggest you look at Quick & Dirty Utilities, either volume 1 or 2
(you'll have to look yourself). They have a marvellous keycap layout
program which allows custom keyboards to be built, comes with QWERTY and
Dvorak keyboard layouts, as well as a layout which matches your stated
preferences. The layout program works with an FKEY which allows you to
swap them as need with a few keystrokes. Good stuff. Has a number of
other good D/A's and FKEYs, for doing things like resetting, SetFile, a
tiny BASIC, terminal emulators, and other niceties. Easily worth the
$39.95 price for each volume. Yes, the standard Keycaps DA notices the
changed keyboard map.
Standard disclaimer: I have no interest in Dreams of the Phoenix
Software, publishers of Q&D Utilities.
Kurt Piersol
"ET was just Stephen Spielberg hitting us with the 'Chainsaw of
Sentimentality'"
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 87 12:18:38 EST
From: JURGEN%UMASS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: RE: SE with Dark Castle & SmartAlarms
Dark Castle wants all of the high memory which is usually allocated for
programs such as debuggers, VBL tasks, and so on. Obviously Smart Alarms
is one such program. This should have nothing to do with the fact that
you are running it on a Mac SE.
I was experiencing the same problems when I tried running Dark Castle on
my Mac+, and was able to trace it down to Macsbug and my backdrop Init.
Since I have a Hard Disk, but only an internal disk drive, there is no
easy way for me to switch systems, so I simply dropped anything which has
an init or is a debugger into a separate folder and restarted the system,
and voila, Dark Castle ran just fine.
I haven't seen Smart Alarms, but I assume that it installs itself via an
init resource also. The best thing for you to do, then would be to copy
the Smart Alarms Init and any related resources into a separate file (using
ResEdit) and changing the TYPE to INIT. Now Smart Alarms will be installed
if you start your Mac with this file in the same folder as the system, or
you can prevent it being installed by dropping the file into a separate
folder. :-)
Have fun playing Dark Castle...
- Jurgen
------------------------------
Date: 28 Mar 1987 19:14-EST
From: Duane.Williams@me.ri.cmu.edu
Subject: MacApp Distribution License
When one purchases MacApp from APDA, it comes with a "single-computer
end user software license agreement." This document states that
"MacApp [object code] may not be redistributed or used for commercial
purposes without an express software distribution license from Apple."
Can anyone tell me how this sentence should be parsed?
Does it mean that only commercial redistribution requires paying the
$100/year redistribution fee? Can one distribute a freeware program
built with MacApp without having to pay the fee? Can one distribute a
shareware program without obligation to pay the fee, or is shareware
considered "commercial"?
------------------------------
Date: Fri 27 Mar 87 19:38:36-AST
From: Peter Gergely <GERGELY@DREA-XX.ARPA>
Subject: Problems with System 4.0/Finder 5.4 and Copy II Mac
WARNING: Use Copy II Mac for 800K disk copies under System 4.0, and
Finder 5.4 under YOUR OWN RISK.
I am running System 4.0/Finder 5.4 on a Macintosh Plus and a Macintosh
SE. The ram cache can either be on (128K), or off (with full reboots in
between). Take COPY II MAC (5.4 or 6.3) and ask for a Sector Copy of a
non-copy protected 800K disk. The sector copy can be either with or
without format (assuming a formatted destination disk).
After reading the disk, and during the writing sequence the "R" error
will appear in minimum of two of the following tracks, 45A, 58A, 72B, or
78B. The 400K sector copy is just fine, and the 800K bit copy fails as the
sector copy for 800K.
It would appear the destination disk is allright, but I would not trust
it. The above has been tested on both a Mac Plus and a Mac SE, using
internal to internal (bottom disk on SE, as the upper one is not recognized
by Copy II Mac), internal to external, external to internal, and external
to external where all disk drives were Apple 800K hardware.
I have alerted Central Point Software, who will look into it but require
6-8 weeks before advising me of any news.
SUGGESTION: Use Copy II Mac from a System 3.2/Finder 5.3 floppy.
Everything appears to work great.
Peter
Notes: The test was conducted on 4 Mac SE, 5 Mac Plus, 1 Mac 512/800 using
System 4.0. The problem is still there if Copy II Mac is run from a Hard
Disk running system 4.0. I have created a set of "master disks" for these
tests with one set created using System 4.0/Finder 5.4 and one set with the
3.2/5.3 combination. There is no real change in the way 800K copying works
with Copy II Mac. The two most common tracks for errors are 45A, and 72B.
Any ideas from the wizards out in netland, as to what might be causing the
problem. Disks pre-formatted with both finders so that Sector Copy with no
Format could be used, make no difference. The problem is absolute, in that
it has happened on over 50 master diskettes (all different from my test
sets).
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 87 17:19:05 EST
From: matthews@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Dave Matthews)
Subject: Bomb of the week
Reply-to: matthews%batcomputer.UUCP@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Dave
Reply-to: Matthews)
A disk had gone out in the weeds, reason unknown. Any attempt to insert it
elicited the "This disk is unreadable: do you want to initialize it?" box.
I tried to salvage with MacTools. The initial response was "There are
problems with this disk. Please try a different one.", which was at least
different if not particularly helpful. I clicked the OK button, triggering
a new box:
Please put the disk: "There are
problems with this disk. Please try
a different one." into the drive.
(MacTools did recover the disk eventually, by the way.)
-- Dave Matthews
In real life: anonymous
ARPA: matthews@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu
USENET:...{cmcl2,shasta,uw-beaver,rochester}!cornell!tcgould!matthews
BELL: 607-533-7820 DISCL: My employer ignores my opinions altogether.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 87 22:24:24 est
From: mayerk@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Kenneth Mayer)
Subject: Unix Windows: setuid query
I've been using uw here for about a month. (version 3.4 on Ultrix
4.2BSD) There is a problem which makes life a bit of pain. For some
reason the uw processes don't get assigned the userid of its parent.
This only has a visible effect when I need to use talk or write. Since
I spend a lot of my time online consulting, this problem forces me to
shutdown uw often, go ahead with my talk session, then restart uw
after I'm done.
Has anyone else come across this problem? Is there a fix?
A bit confused in Philafluphia.
Ken Mayer
------------------------------
Date: 29 Mar 87 19:48 +0600
From: Dhiren Fonseca <fonseca%cc.uofm.cdn%ubc.csnet@RELAY.CS.NET>
Subject: Word 3.0 stop nagging...
>Ok, quitcher bellyaching! Word 3.0 DOES allow you to have .....
There sure are a lot of people complaining about Word 3.0.
bye the way, someone mentioned that there was no way to
have side by side paragraphs in a document header. It took
me 2 seconds to get Side by Sides in a header, whats the matter
dosn't any one read there manuals any more ? jeeezzz
Dhiren Fonseca
the sample file created is enclosed in Word 3.0 regular format.
look at the page preview !
(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)
:%e0TC'8JBRNJ8fPNC5"6B@e`E'8!9d4#6Ne69d3!N!3%!*!&kQ(q0!#3$J(%!*!
1!`!!8J!!!`!!8J!!!e)!N!3$8J#3"!05!!i!!!0J!"!!!!0`!*!%!h!!N!3$F!!
-!!!$I!!+!!!$KJ!+!!!$F!#3"!13!!!H!!!$VJ#3"!1Z!*!%!3#3"&-!N!G`!*!
N2H![d!@J"`J&S!F)!!!#d&)!J!%!!3!"3!#31e30D'Pc)'Pc)'%JFf&YF'aP)'p
Q)(GSBA3JFfPNC5"LH5"cD@4P)'0KEL"NEb"QEh)JH@pe,QPQ)(P[G5"XC@&bEL"
SEhFJG'mJGA0P)'Pd)#%09'KTFb"TFb"K)(0KEA"XC5"[CL"dD'8JG'9iG#"dD'&
d)'0KEL"REb"TEL"K)'KPBA*NCA)09'KTFb"TFb"K)(0KEA"XC5"[CL"dD'8JG'9
iG#"dD'&d)'0KEL"REb"TEL"K)'KPBA*NCA)0N!B#33)!N$X"!*!$!3)!!!(%!!!
"ahN!F`#3B!8!3!!#'!8!#!!!J!-!!!%!N!-"!J!!!9-!!!'*!!!"[`!!!F!!!!(
"!!!"`J!!!F-!!!(%GR*K6N"!FR)d!*!$#`#3!`B"%"8B%31%$I3!!!8#$`B#%1!
K`!!5p!!!"3)'!4%@J!m'!K$J)F!!%23!!!B"%"D!$`B#%1!K`!!$!*!$#!#3!`B
"&2XS#3!-!!m!rj!,!!!6rj!-"!!3!"8!%[q3$!-!!!%!$I3!N!2f!*!8hJ#3"m3
!!J!!!F3!N!I%3!)!N!8"!*!(E`#3!h!!!!%!N!-"a`!%!!!"!*!$!F3!"3#3!`-
!"!!8!"8!&`!K!'%!R!$K!1B!k`$Y!1i!l`#38XV+!!!:
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 87 22:09:12 PST
From: USER=QCZ4%SFU.Mailnet%UBC.MAILNET@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: re Mac -> HP Laserjet:
A) On a Mac 512, all you need is an Imagewriter I - style cable. Plug the
sucker in, and set the Laserjet to (I think) 9600 baud. This alone should
enable you to print in draft mode with the default font.
B) I have a package called 'LaserStart', from Softstyle, Inc. (See their ads
in any issue of MacWorld). It enables you to print either in draft mode with
printer fonts picked to match screen spacing (including fonts on cartridge)
or in graphics: 100, 150, or 300 dpi. At 100 dpi you can print a whole Mac
page, at 150 you get about 2/3 of a page, and at 300 you get about 2 1/2 inches
before the printer chokes. (I suppose this would be more with a LJ Plus.)
It works with all Mac software that I've tested with it (lots and lots).
At the moment, we've ordered an upgrade to 'LaserStart Plus' - which reportedly
includes a spooler, mixing of Mac graphics with printer fonts, etc...
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 87 10:44:32 est
From: sr16#@andrew.cmu.edu (Seth Benjamin Rothenberg)
Subject: VMS/Vax as Mac, PC file server
Has anyone used VMS Vaxen as file servers for Macs and PC's together?
I have been asked to find out all the options available (or soon-to-be) for
using VMS Vaxen as file servers for IBM-PC's and Macintosh's. The
network would have several clusters of Macs and PCs, each with a uVax.
The uVaxen would be in different buildings, linked to each other and
to a Vax mainframe with an Ethernet (probably DecNet). If anyone
has hooked such a system up, I'd appreciate if you could let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Seth Rothenberg
sr16@andrew.cmu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28-MAR-1987 23:16 PST
From: <ZGLu%UCIVMSA.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu>
Subject: SPICE for Mac?
Can any body tell me if there is any software on Mac that is functionally
equivalent to SPICE for network modelling?
George Lu bitnet: ZGLU@UCICP6
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 87 12:47:44 EST
From: JURGEN%UMASS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: Fullwrite Professional, anyone..?
Ok... I've seen Ann Arbor Softworks' ad for Fullwrite Pro in January. It
looked interesting. Now I've seen their latest ad telling me not to buy
MS Word. I've also been kind of discouraged from buying Word by all the
complaints and bug reports posted on this digest. But I NEED a good word
processor! And soon, too... Is Fullwrite worth waiting for..? Is it
really serious competition for MS Word? Mind you, I'm also not too
impressed with Word (I've played with it briefly) because it isn't true
WYSIWYG, and what did I buy a Macintosh for if not WYSIWYG??? On the
other hand, Word does have most of the features I've been longing for
for years now. If Fullwrite is all they claim, AND if it can do some
of the really advanced features of the new Word, then I'm buying...
Anyone actually seen it...?
(all the above references to "Word" are to Word 3.0, of course... I wouldn't
touch the old MS Word with a ten-foot pole)
- Jurgen E Botz (Jurgen@Umass.wiscvm.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 87 23:43 EST
From: Hess@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: Rage about Apple's PC/AppleTalk card & software
(Alas, you read right -- "rage", not "rave". At the end of this flame
is a request for help from somebody who makes AppleTalk cards & software.)
1) It *does* work. I can print to my LaserWriter.
2) The software user interface is mediocre. The driver base
is way too big to be a TSR.
3) The documentation is either incomplete or afraid to say what
needs to be said.
<<flame on>>
First, the AppleTalk driver, ATALK.EXE does a Terminate and Stay
Resident and takes up 58K! Centram's ATALK.SYS only takes 19K plus
buffers. Why?
Second, all the printing programs look for LW.ENV only in the current
directory. I can see the words "PATH" and a search directory name in
the .EXE, but neither seems to be looked for. (So, OK, I hacked the
binary to look in "\LWENV" instead of "LW.ENV". Shouldn't have to,
though. Of course, neither documentation nor switch-listing says
anything about PATHs, or the fact that the LW.ENV has to be present.)
Third, why does a printing program clear the screen, displaying status
messages sprinkled around the 24 lines? And why does the "-q" (for
"quiet") switch still clear the screen, and print even more messages,
just not sprinkled around?
Finally, the manual says the card comes set up to use COM2's IRQ 3.
Can be changed to IRQ4 for COM1, or to IRQ2. Says not to use IRQ2 in
an AT. Why does it say that? Maybe because of hard disk interference?
Well, they ought to say so, as warning, or else include the sentence
that follows logically from their current instructions: "You can't use
this card in a PC/AT where you also need to use both COM1 and COM2."
Of course, it seems to work just fine on IRQ2. At least my AT hard
disk hasn't slowed down or died just yet...
Of course, Centram's card comes set up for IRQ2 and says nothing bad
about installing in an AT, nor does their tech support see any reason
why not. (I don't know who's worrying/not worrying appropriately...)
<<flame off>>
I'm sending this message to both Info-Mac and Info-IBMPC because the
card may be of some concern to each group, and in hopes of catching
the eye of someone from Centram, Apple, and Tangent. Or anybody
from ThInK who's had to use all these cards working on InBox and
might have hints. Regardless of my flaming, I do need some help:
* Will Apple improve its software? Is there a reason it
can't get small?
* If not, will Centram please do a version of TOPS that runs
on the Apple card and sell it separately?
* If not, does the latest Tangent software (which seems to be
underneath the Apple logo in this case) work any better than this?
* If not, should I know better than to buy new toys? :-)
Brian
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 87 12:38:03 EST
From: JURGEN%UMASS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: Terminal Emulators and Control Codes (Flame)
Who was the bright guy who decided that terminal emulators should use the
command key to send control characters...?
Someone (presumably one of the designers of MacTerminal) set this standart,
and ever since it has been impossible to get keyboard equivalents for menu
commands in terminal programs. And of all the programs that I use, the
terminal emulater is the one in which I need keyboard oriented operation
the most!
This is absolute utter nonsense, and I find it extremely frustrating that
all the better terminal programs seem to follow this method. [ The only
exception is: Red Ryder :-) ..which is a program with a LOT of nice
features, but unfortunately extremely buggy and poorly written :-( ]
Why do I say that it is nonsensical to use the command key as a control key
equivalent..? Well, the logic is simple... the COMMAND key is defined to
be the key which you use to invoke COMMANDS! Such as menu equivalents, Cut
& Paste, macros, etc. The OPTION key is the key with which you generate
OPTIONAL characters, i.e. characters that are not part of the set of
characters printed on the top of your key-caps. Such as... accent marks,
bullets, and... CONTROL CHARACTERS!!!!
Since for the vast majority of terminal applications accent marks and
bullets are neither necessary nor even usable, using the option key as a
control meta key introduces NO conflicts, whereas using the command key
introduces multiple conflicts. First of all you can't use the command key
for menu commands any- more, and secondly, most terminal programs add
another conflict by making the command key ALSO they key with which you
invoke you macros or scripts! In other words, once you have any macros
defined, you can't use those control codes, and you can't get menu
equivalents either. Great, just great.
- Jurgen E Botz (Jurgen@UMass.wiscvm.edu)
------------------------------
End of INFO-MAC Digest
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