SHULMAN@slb-test.CSNET.UUCP (03/07/87)
Delphi Mac Digest Saturday, March 7, 1987 Volume 3 : Issue 14
Today's Topics:
RE: KANJI FONT FOR THE MAC
Re: Vertical Retrace Tasks
using full mac screen (2 messages)
LightSpeed Pascal
RE: INFO-MAC Digest V5 #58
Re: WmgrPort/Desktop Drawing
LaserWriter/LaserPrep 3.3
Hard Disk Partition
RE: MacPub<>RSG 3.0 (4 messages)
RE: AppleWorld report #1 (2 messages)
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From: MGNEWMAN
Subject: RE: KANJI FONT FOR THE MAC (Re: Msg 17650)
Date: 1-MAR-16:22: Programming
Actually, there are at least two software packages available that do
handle quite a few of the Kanji. EG Word (Pronounced Easy Word) does a
fairly nice job of Japanese word processing on the Mac with over 3000
Kanji characters. These characters are stored in a simple bit map file,
but I don't have a map to the bit map! Another program "Jukugo" allows
you to use Kana and Kanji with any Mac software. In other words, it
lets you convert Word or MacWrite to a full Japanese language word
processor with Kanji conversion.
Apple Canon sells a Kanji Mac in Japan. The Kanji are in ROM. However,
they also have the Kanji on Disc. I would like the disc, but Apple
won't resp[ond to mail that I send them. Can anyone here help or offer
any suggestions? I have a wonderful little Japanese language
self-tutoring program running. Right now it only displays the first 100
Kanji. They are in a font that is a resource. Unfortunately, I have to
draw the characters in Fontastic, a slow process for a non-Japanese
speaker ;like me. Any help would be appreciated.
------------------------------
From: BRECHER
Subject: Re: Vertical Retrace Tasks
Date: 1-MAR-19:12: MUGS Online
To: rs4u#@ANDREW.CMU.EDU (Richard Siegel)
Subject: Vertical Retrace Tasks
To make a VBL task live across application launches, put it and its
queue element in the system heap.
------------------------------
From: JIMH
Subject: using full mac screen
Date: 1-MAR-17:04: Programming Techniques
could someone please tell me how to open up a window to the full mac
screen. I i took out the call to initmenu, however initwindow draws the
blank menu bar anyway. I tryed reseting the cliprgn of the window
manager port, no go. my window is placed under the menubar (top of
window), however the menu bar is always on top. Any suggestions would
be appreciated. thanks jim
------------------------------
From: ASMCOR
Subject: RE: using full mac screen (Re: Msg 1284)
Date: 4-MAR-22:46: Programming Techniques
Sure, Jim, it's as easy as opening your own port. Use OpenPort() (it
defaults to the full screen) and draw into it instead - if you do a
PaintRect() on it you can fill the whole screen.
Jan
------------------------------
From: AGALLAGHER
Subject: LightSpeed Pascal
Date: 1-MAR-23:25: Programming
Does anyone know of any problem when using the 'Build and Save as an
Application' option on the MacintoshSE? It bombs everytime. Most
programs run just fine on it, but I have found a few that run but run a
bit differently ( FullPaint, AppleLink).
------------------------------
From: DDUNHAM
Subject: RE: INFO-MAC Digest V5 #58 (Re: Msg 17706)
Date: 2-MAR-02:55: Network Digests
> From: koch@NADC
> Subject: Shutting Down with SCSI
The easiest thing to do is select Shut Down, then hold down the mouse
button until you turn things off.
David Dunham "If it has syntax, it isn't user-friendly."
Maitreya Design
------------------------------
From: BRECHER
Subject: Re: WmgrPort/Desktop Drawing
Date: 2-MAR-03:28: MUGS Online
The following technique, sketched in Pascal and assembler, is what I use
to have a window that appears to be the desktop. Actually, before
today, I was using another technique that was an absolute kludge, but
your query got me thinking about how I might use a better approach. The
basic idea is to take the window out of the, er, picture during the
execution of PaintBehind, by patching PaintBehind. This technique is
not bulletproof, in the sense that it does make some assumptions about
the implementation of the Window Manager. However, it does work on the
64K and 128K ROMs; I haven't yet tested it on, um, other models, but I
expect it will work on those too.
I have omitted declarations of global variables and low-memory address
constants -- I hope these fragments are reasonably understandable.
Procedure MyDeskHook; var
SaveRgn: RgnHandle;
WMgrsPort: GrafPtr; begin
if RegD0 {asm function returning value of D0} = 0 then begin
FillRgn(thePort^.clipRgn, PatPtr(DeskPattern)^); {for, e.g., Radius FPD}
GetPort(WMgrsPort);
SetPort(@theWindow.port);
if BytesEqual(Ptr(DeskPattern), @OldDeskPat, sizeof(Pattern)) then
begin
theWindow.visible := true; {so we can use DrawControls, etc.}
SaveRgn := theWindow.port.visRgn;
theWindow.port.visRgn := WMgrsPort^.clipRgn;
{here you draw the contents of the window}
theWindow.port.visRgn := SaveRgn;
theWindow.visible := false; {so update region is not affected}
end
else begin {user is diddling the desktop pattern in the Control Panel}
InvalRect(theWindow.port.portRect);
OldDeskPat := PatPtr(DeskPattern)^;
end;
SetPort(WMgrsPort);
end; end;
{at initialization time...}
PatchPaintBehind; {code to install the patch not shown; original addr
stored at ApplScratch}
OldDeskPat := PatPtr(DeskPattern)^;
{Don't pass screenBits.bounds directly to NewWindow due to Radius FPD bug.}
{Give window a title to accommodate "Windows"-type DAs}
WindRect := screenBits.bounds;
Dummy := NewWindow(@theWindow, WindRect, StringPtr(ord4(CurApName))^,
false, plainDBox, nil, false, 0);
intptr(ord4(PaintWhite))^ := 0;
ShowWindow(@theWindow);
LongPtr(ord4(DeskHook))^ := ord4(@MyDeskHook);
{Note that you can do normal update processing for your window; this is
convenient, as you can use InvalRect, InvalRgn, etc. where appropriate to
force an update, and do the drawing in the update routine as usual.}
procedure Update; {called from event loop} begin
SetPort(@theWindow);
BeginUpdate(@theWindow);
FillRect(theWindow.port.portRect, patPtr(DeskPattern)^);
{here you draw the contents of the window}
EndUpdate(@theWindow); end;
; the patch for PaintBehind: we hide our fake-desktop window from
; PaintBehind by temporarily clearing its wVisible flag. Then any portion
; of it that's exposed is drawn by our DeskHook routine.
PaintBehindPatch Proc Export
RtnAddr Equ 0 clobberedRgn Equ RtnAddr+4 window
Equ clobberedRgn+4
Import theWindow: Data
SF theWindow+wVisible(A5)
Move.L window+2(SP),-(SP)
Move.L clobberedRgn+6(SP),-(SP)
Move.L ApplScratch,A0 ;addr of pre-patch PaintBehind
Jsr (A0)
ST theWindow+wVisible(A5)
Rts
EndP
------------------------------
From: DDUNHAM
Subject: LaserWriter/LaserPrep 3.3
Date: 3-MAR-03:19: Bugs & Features
I've noticed that one of my PostScript fonts (created some time ago with
FOntographer) is sent to the printer as a bitmap font with the new
LW/LP. If I go back to 3.1 of LW/LP, it works.
Unfortunately, I've been unable to get Fontographer to run so I can
check out the font.
------------------------------
From: MACINTOUCH
Subject: Hard Disk Partition
Date: 3-MAR-18:35: Business Mac
Dave,
I've been using Hard Disk Partition for a variety of problems, and it
seems to work well. One major restriction, though, is that it seems to
only be able to access (mount) HDP volumes on the same disk drive that
the System is on. This gets pretty restrictive when you have two large
disks in use at once. Any plans to change this, or am I missing
something?
ric
------------------------------
From: MOUSEKETEER
Subject: RE: MacPub<>RSG 3.0 (Re: Msg 17753)
Date: 3-MAR-22:22: Mousing Around
Oh...I thought you meant Letraset had been pulling the heads off mice or
such at the MacExpo in January! (grin)
In my view, it's a toss-up to say that Letraset has acted in a "slimy"
fashion to date. I called their Paramus, NJ HQ a few times asking about
the MacII-> LetraPage update, and while they would never say anything
definite about a release date, they never seemed to mind being asked or
returning a call. Given the way it turned out, I think it was perhaps
wise of them to decline giving a release date for LetraPage. I *do* hope
they keep up the good support that Manhattan Graphics has given its
users. They do offer RSG 3.0 much more marketing muscle than Manhattan
Graphics could...it was rare to find a dealer who carried RSG beyond the
mail-order houses...the profit margin for PageMaker was just too much
higher.
As to Letraset's treatment of Boston Publishing, I think there is
probably a lot we don't know, i.e. an agreed upon delivery date for
LetraPage (MacPub III) and related contractual clauses as to who got the
customer lists upon termination of the contract. Obviously MacPub III
wasn't ready when Letraset expected it would be, and they had invested
quite a sum in promoting it, with multi-page spreads in Macworld,
MacUser, Publish!, etc. Boston Publishing/ MacPublisher has routinely
been late with product releases...the only firm I know of which has
shown "canned" versions of the same software at two different MacExpos
with no product release in sight. And I do think it is a bit odd for
Boston Publishing to be complaining about not having a registered user
list to send update notices to...I purchased the original MacPublisher
the week orders were taken (shipped 2 months later), sent in my
registration card, and only by phoning in could learn about updates to
that program or MacPub II. Having registered MacPub II, I could only get
info on myriad bug fixes by calling the company, too. I agree having a
customer list for informing about upgrades is a good idea...it's just
that Boston Publishing has never used them before, so why complain that
they can't now?
To be fair, though, Boston Publishing does *appear* to be open about
their upgrade to MacPub III. Talking to them today, I was told the
upgrade would be available around the end of March and would be priced
at $99.95 to owners of _either_ MacPublisher or MacPublisher II, while
retail on MacPub III would be set at $295. Improvements to MacPublisher
III include direct text editing, hy- phenation (hehe), importing files
from various WPs without losing formatting, "direct drawing using a
graphic palette and toolbox", "group select", and they are looking into
adding text rotation.
If you own MacPub I or II, you can get information regarding the upgrade
by sending your name and address to Boston Publishing. Since they do not
have a listing of registered users, they will be incorporating the
upgrade info into ads. You should not expect to hear back from BP until
the upgrade is actually available, in response to complaints from many
users who had paid for upgrades to MacPub II (including myself) to
discover that they would not be available for many months.
Oh, if you are thinking of taking up Letraset on the $70 upgrade to RSG
from MacPub II, you might be interested to know that Boston Publishing
will not be requesting the cover of your MacPubII manual...they
currently plan to ask for only a photocopy of your master disk (includes
your reg. #) to qualify for the upgrade price.
Alf
------------------------------
From: PEABO
Subject: RE: MacPub<>RSG 3.0 (Re: Msg 17796)
Date: 3-MAR-23:37: Mousing Around
The situation is actually a little more complicated than you portray.
When was the last time you spoke to "Boston Software Publishing"? If I
understand the situation correctly, there isn't any such thing anymore.
When LetraSet bought BSPI, they got Ed Holcomb and a couple other people
who were the guys who ran BSPI. Those guys now work for LetraSet. The
guy who is now trying to sell MacPub III is Bob Doyle, who wrote it
(along with his son). His company name is MicroCosmos.
It is entirely possible that MicroCosmos never had any customer list,
since it is BSPI that was marketing it, not MicroCosmos.
peter
------------------------------
From: MOUSEKETEER
Subject: RE: MacPub<>RSG 3.0 (Re: Msg 17799)
Date: 4-MAR-01:10: Mousing Around
Ya, the "Boston Publishing" in my note means the new entity, and that is
how they answer the phones, anyway. The person I spoke with again
repeated the gripe that "they" had the registered customer list, in
speaking of Letraset, though I wasn't aware that most of BSPI was now in
Letraset anyway.
If you are suggesting, though, that RSG 3.0 upgrades and such will be
handled by the people who "ran" BSPI before, I'm gonna have to start
watching more closely for my PageMaker upgrade notice. My only surprise
in the whole thing was that Letraset would get involved with BSPI in the
first place, given how MacPub has been managed in the past.
Alf
------------------------------
From: PEABO
Subject: RE: MacPub<>RSG 3.0 (Re: Msg 17806)
Date: 4-MAR-01:20: Mousing Around
The LetraSet fellow I spoke to at the Expo said that Holcomb was still
with them, but I don't remember what Holcomb would be doing for them.
peter
------------------------------
From: BMUG
Subject: RE: AppleWorld report #1 (Re: Msg 17735)
Date: 4-MAR-00:23: MUGS Online
APPLEWORLD REPORT ----------------
Night descends on LA, the first night of Appleworld '87.
What I'll try to report are impressions, a sense of what it's like to be
down in LA for this product introduction and conference. Apple has
organized this event from the ground up and planned some very busy days
for everyone here. We're divided up into "constituencies" representing
user groups, K-12 education, university, dealers, developers, government
accounts, press, analysts, and VARs. Each group had its own schedule to
follow after the main product presentations, and so what I'll describe
below represents what user groups were shown.
After arriving as most people did on Sunday night and checking into
hotels, everyone was up and ready before 8am Monday morning to have
breakfast and catch busses from downtown LA to the Universal Frost
Ampitheater. Shortly after 9, the Hollywood-style show began. Del
Yocam, Chief Operating Officer, started off the festivities with a
speech about Apple's past. He was followed by Woz, talking about
Apple's heritage and future. Apple played a video tape of their
customers, companies like Seafirst Bank, saying how the Macintosh has
changed their ideas about productivity and how the Macintosh has
infiltrated their offices. A very convincing piece (as if we needed to
be convinced) that would make a great commercial.
Next, John Sculley came out to center stage. (The other speeches had
been made from the side podium.) He gave a very animated account of
Apple's future, but left the actual product introductions to Jean-Louis
Gassee. Jean-Louis showed the Mac SE running all the normal Mac
programs--faster. Then he showed the Mac II running great programs in
color! I wasn't too surprised by the color, but I was blown away by the
fact that the II supports up to six screens running off one Mac II,
where windows can be dragged from one screen to another just like from a
Radius screen to the Mac screen. Also, I saw the size and shape of the
II and was pleasantly surprised that the Mac II was smaller than I
expected it to be. Overall impression? Amiga may have come out well
before the Mac II, but Apple waited until they had everything they
needed to do it right.
John Sculley's speech introduced some very interesting terms. He called
Apple a paradigm shifter, a company that doesn't just create products
for existing markets but a company that can find 'trojan niches' to
fill. Desktop publishing was an example of a trojan niche; more will
follow. Apple can take the MS-DOS paradigm and shfit it to the Finder
paradigm. (I'm paraphrasing a bit here to get across the general idea.)
He said that future emphasis on computers would move from data
processing through networking to document processing. He said Apple was
driven by the strong, affluent, middle-class marketplace (what an
admission!).
Apple announced quite a few products along with the SE and II, including
A/UX ( their version of UNIX System V with 4.2BSD extensions _and_
toolbox support), a video card, many new hard disks and a tape backup
unit, and third-party 8086 and 80286 cards. The SE and the II can also
use one of two keyboards which appear more like standard IBM keyboards
than the current one. The first keyboard has approximately the same
keys as the MacPlus keyboard while the 'extended' keyboard adds function
keys and IBM-configured cursor keys.
The Mac II spoke well for itself, demonstrating its amazing graphics and
sound capabilities in some beautiful landscape paintings, firework
displays, and even a version of the Jetson's theme.
The afternoon was full of specialized sessions. User groups were
treated to an address by Ellen Leanse (user group evangelist), a working
session on UG relations moderated by Andy Reese, and a panel discussion
on dealer/UG relations. Then, Alan Kay presented his thoughts on what
Apple and the computer industry in general should be aiming for. He
showed how many of the windowing and graphics ideas of the Mac were
actually implemented as far back as the early 1960s (on multimillion
dollar mainframes) and that in many ways the artificial intelligence of
old software was superior to the software we have today. However, he
pointed out that the Macintosh II, with its more powerful 68020 and
faster (approximately 16 MHz clock speed) was bridging the gap and
making it possible for desktop computers to finally be powerful enough
for applications like real-time 3D animation. An inspiring talk.
After an all-to-short break, we had dinner. Steve Wozniak was the
featured guest, but rather than give a speech, Ellen and he moderated a
game of We'll Make a Fortune. Steve asked the questions, and Phrase
Craze spun the wheel. User Group representatives were the contestants,
and the questions and phrases dealt with Apple trivia. At the end of
the game, Steve told jokes, and a good time was had by all!
Tomorrow, an expo for third party products and a chance to try the new
machines firsthand.
Wish you were all here--you're gonna love the Mac II!!!
--Linda Custer
------------------------------
From: BMUG
Subject: RE: AppleWorld report #1 (Re: Msg 17735)
Date: 4-MAR-00:26: MUGS Online
Live, from LA, it's Tuesday morning!
Let's see. Now the user groups got to see lots more products. Third
party programs, screens, printers, etc. Like Desktop Express, the
program I'm using to type this message. Marketed by Apple, Desktop
Express allows you to access Dow Jones or MCI Mail with a user interface
much like that of Applelink. You can package files together and send
them all at once. You can save them as images rather than whole files
so that the recipient doesn't need to own the program you used to create
the files. (Those image files, or any Mac file, can now be sent over
MCI and delivered either electronically or as LaserWriter output.)
Nice, and _very_ easy to use.
What else? Lotus announced Galaxy, an "upgrade" to Jazz. It is still
RAM-based so no document or set of documents being manipulated can be
larger than available RAM. Its spreadsheets can now be linked to each
other, and it has an interactive macro language similar to 1-2-3. (Lotus
1-2-3 macros can be transported from the IBM as text, but need to be
translated by hand to account for minor differences in the macro
langugages between the two programs.) The spreadsheet module now
handles sparse matrix storage (Excel doesn't do that yet! ) and minimum
recalculation. The WP module has rulers that can be named and act as
style sheets. The database is now semi-relational, as it allows joins
and lookups between different data sets. It still has hot views and
looks almost identical to Jazz. Expect release sometime "early summer".
Living Videotext announced More 1.1c (supporting color). I saw dBASE
Mac running on a MacII, so maybe there's hope?! Omnis 3.24 also ran
(flawlessly as far as I could tell) on a MacII. GCC (the Hyperdrive
people) announced their Hypercharger 020, a plug-in board for the Mac SE
that gives you a 68020--almost the power of a MacII without (1) the
extra 5 slots, (2) the MacII 256K ROMs, and consequently (3) color
monitor support. Shipping in June (more or less), and priced at $1499
without a 68881, $1999 with one. Not bad if you need portability and
not color.
SuperMac is making a big splash with its 19" color and B&W
monitors-great for CAD/CAM and page layout. They're sharp, and make the
Mac look _remarkably_ like a Sun workstation! Good for the image, I
guess.
Borland announced Eureka! for the Mac, mostly the same as their IBM
product. It's a free-form calculation and graphics program that has to
be seen to be appreciated. Available in about three months, but mostly
done now.
And, I guess I should have mentioned that SuperMac was purchased by
Scientific Microsystems, making Steve Edelman (SuperMac's past
president) into a Scientific Microsystems VP in charge of Mac products.
More later on this ICONtact(tm) channel.
--Linda Custer
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End of Delphi Mac Digest
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