moriarty@tc.fluke.COM (Jeff Meyer) (01/17/90)
Any opinions on the superiority of Aladdin's ShortCut utility over
Boomerang, or visa-versa? These are two INIT/cdevs which allow a number of
fast menu searches and "jump to" operations (among others) through the file
open or save dialog boxes. I've been using the Beta versions of Boomerang
for quite some time, and am inclined to go with it's release version because
the author has made it available to the public for trial via shareware.
(Which I think should be encouraged.) I.e., given a close call, I'll go
with Boomerang.
I'm not as interested in bells & whistles (i.e. being able to open StuffIt
files from the dialog box), as opposed to a) bugginess (I've seen
Boomerang's occasional wipe-itself-out bomb in beta -- the only annoying
thing is having to build up the list of Reserved Folders again; I've
understood from the net that this happens less frequently in the release
version, which I haven't gotten yet), and b) compatibility with particular
applications and other INITs & cdevs. Boomerang seems to work with just
about anything I have these days, no problems (not counting SFVolInit and
other INITs which duplicated some of it's functionality); is the same true
for ShortCut?
Any and all info and opinions are appreciated; thanks in advance.
"And Oliver has run himself over! What a great
twit!"
---
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
INTERNET: moriarty@tc.fluke.COM
Manual UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, microsoft, hplsla, uiucuxc}!fluke!moriarty
CREDO: You gotta be Cruel to be Kind...
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>t-jacobs@cs.utah.edu (Tony Jacobs) (01/18/90)
One reason I chose to use Boomerang is because the "rebound" feature works much better than in ShortCut. The other is that it is dynamic in the folder/file/disk menus. It's real handy to pull down that menu and see the most receint files in the list and to be able to switch thru them with a shortcut. Tony Jacobs * Center for Engineering Design * U of U * t-jacobs@cs.utah.edu
nf0i+@andrew.cmu.edu (Norman William Franke, III) (01/18/90)
Indeed, I think Boomerang is much better than Shortcut. However, I am sometimes really annoyed by how much time it adds to the SF Dialogs comming up. Shortcut doesn't do that. Shortcut also has a MUCH better get info. But I can't live without Boomerang. But who says you can't use both? Though Boomerang is, I think, a better value. -Norman Franke nf0i+@andrew.cmu.edu
nrf@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (neal.r.fildes) (01/18/90)
From article <13977@fluke.COM>, by moriarty@tc.fluke.COM (Jeff Meyer): > Any opinions on the superiority of Aladdin's ShortCut utility over > Boomerang, or visa-versa? These are two INIT/cdevs which allow a number of I tried the official 2.0 boomerang, and had troubles with crashes. into the trash it went, and I tried defaultD, which seemed much more bug free. once I got shortcut, it was easy to discard dfaultd as well. so far no crashes from it, and no collisions with other init/cdevs. I find it very easy to use... command-# keys to pop to volumes, you can option-menu and cmd-menu to directly access volume and file menus. and it lets you sort / move the order of things on the menu. (I am using system 6.0.4) NRF
isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock) (01/18/90)
In article <1990Jan17.091032.14538@hellgate.utah.edu> t-jacobs@cs.utah.edu (Tony Jacobs) writes: > >One reason I chose to use Boomerang is because the "rebound" feature works >much better than in ShortCut. > >The other is that it is dynamic in the folder/file/disk menus. It's real handy >to pull down that menu and see the most receint files in the list and to be >able to switch thru them with a shortcut. Along the same lines, I love being able to flip throug directories in Boomerang with command-keys as opposed to the ugly dialog box having to be popped up in ShortCut. If I wanted to take the time to go through a dialog box, I'd use the one in the SFGet/PutFile! Ken -- Ken Hancock '90 | DISCLAIMER: I'm graduating and looking for Consultant | a job, so I'll stand by my words. Computer Resource Center |============================================== Dartmouth College | EMAIL: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu
larry@hpfilis.HP.COM (Larry Schneider) (01/19/90)
When I had Boomerang in my system folder, Tempo II would sometimes hang. I haven't had that problem with Shortcut. Larry Schneider
rob@cs.mu.oz.au (Robert Wallen) (01/20/90)
In article <13977@fluke.COM> moriarty@tc.fluke.COM (Jeff Meyer) writes: >open or save dialog boxes. I've been using the Beta versions of Boomerang >for quite some time, and am inclined to go with it's release version because >the author has made it available to the public for trial via shareware. I used 1.0b7 for a while, but it has one really nasty bug that made it almost useless to me. Using Think C 4.0, TMON 2.8.1 in 'strict discipline' mode causes SFGETFILE to drop dead with a 'Bus Error' in a routine which belongs to Boomerang (MacNosy identified the symbols for me) >Boomerang's occasional wipe-itself-out bomb in beta -- the only annoying >thing is having to build up the list of Reserved Folders again; I've For me, rebooting is a pain as well. Usually, the 'Bus Error' has mashed things enough for 'ExitToShell' to not work anymore... >understood from the net that this happens less frequently in the release >version, which I haven't gotten yet), and b) compatibility with particular ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Me neither. Does anyone know whether the release version suffers from this problem before I try to send off the cash (not a trivial thing from Oz)
dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) (01/20/90)
In article <2940@murtoa.cs.mu.oz.au> rob@murtoa.UUCP (Robert Wallen) writes: > I used 1.0b7 for a while, but it has one really nasty bug that made it almost > useless to me. Using Think C 4.0, TMON 2.8.1 in 'strict discipline' mode > causes SFGETFILE to drop dead with a 'Bus Error' in a routine which belongs to > Boomerang (MacNosy identified the symbols for me) > > Does anyone know whether the release version suffers from this > problem before I try to send off the cash (not a trivial thing from Oz) I am almost certain that it does not. Back around 2.0B5 or so, I installed the Mr. Bus Error INIT, which repeatedly stomps location 0 with an odd doubleword... this rapidly detects code which is dereferencing an empty-but-not-null handle (very much a no-no). Boomerang immediately began suffering from bus errors, aborting the current application. I dumped the code-segment in question, printed it, marked it up, and mailed it off to Hiro. A couple of weeks later, a new beta-version appeared on the various nets, with this problem corrected. Shortly thereafter, I got a diskette from Hiro, with the fix installed and a note of thanks for reporting the bug. If this is the same problem you observed (I suspect it is...), then the problem should be absent from the release version and from the later beta-versions (2.0B9, for example). I'm running 2.0 on my SE at work, with Mr. Bus Error, and am running 2.0 at home with occasional use of NilMinder. I've seen _no_ bombs, Boomerang wipeouts, or other impolite behavior. -- Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 493-8805 UUCP: ...!{ames,apple,uunet}!coherent!dplatt DOMAIN: dplatt@coherent.com INTERNET: coherent!dplatt@ames.arpa, ...@uunet.uu.net USNAIL: Coherent Thought Inc. 3350 West Bayshore #205 Palo Alto CA 94303
vallon@sbmiclr.cs.sunysb.edu (Justin Vallon) (01/23/90)
In article <44959@improper.coherent.com>, dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) writes: > [Comments about Boomerang] > > Back around 2.0B5 or so, I installed the Mr. Bus Error INIT, which > repeatedly stomps location 0 with an odd doubleword... this rapidly > detects code which is dereferencing an empty-but-not-null handle (very > much a no-no). Boomerang immediately began suffering from bus errors, > aborting the current application. (I assume that Mr. Bus Error is something like a VBL task that writes to location $0 every interrupt). I have two questions. (a) I'm using Virtual. There is no part of the address space (that is, when you've set 14Mb VM space) that will cause a bus error (at least, I believe). The memory map of my Mac II w/14Mb VM: (Addresses are VM addresses, not physical addresses) $000000-$7FFFFF Ram (8 Mb) $800000-$83FFFF Rom (256K) $840000-$EFFFFF Ram (768K + 6 Mb) $F00000-$FFFFFF Video card So, unless the video card causes a bus error (I have no idea about this), then there is no bus-error address. BTW, what's the point of being odd? Isn't a bus error enough? Anyway, 68020's and beyond don't generate address errors, right? (b) Where can I get this. I suppose that it's a few minutes of code, but I'm lazy. > -- > Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 493-8805 > UUCP: ...!{ames,apple,uunet}!coherent!dplatt DOMAIN: dplatt@coherent.com > INTERNET: coherent!dplatt@ames.arpa, ...@uunet.uu.net > USNAIL: Coherent Thought Inc. 3350 West Bayshore #205 Palo Alto CA 94303 -Justin vallon@sbcs.sunysb.edu
allbery@NCoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery) (01/24/90)
As quoted from <4520@sbcs.sunysb.edu> by vallon@sbmiclr.cs.sunysb.edu (Justin Vallon): +--------------- | In article <44959@improper.coherent.com>, dplatt@coherent.com (Dave | Platt) writes: | > [Comments about Boomerang] | > | > Back around 2.0B5 or so, I installed the Mr. Bus Error INIT, which | > repeatedly stomps location 0 with an odd doubleword... this rapidly | > detects code which is dereferencing an empty-but-not-null handle (very | > much a no-no). Boomerang immediately began suffering from bus errors, | > aborting the current application. | | (I assume that Mr. Bus Error is something like a VBL task that writes | to location $0 every interrupt). I have two questions. | | BTW, what's the point of being odd? Isn't a bus error enough? Anyway, | 68020's and beyond don't generate address errors, right? +--------------- Most 680x0 instructions are word or longword-oriented; an odd address passed to those instructions will cause a bus error. Quite a few applications, INITs, etc. have a tendency toward "unsafe" memory practices; in particular, referencing a nil handle. Mr. Bus Error and similar INITs are designed to catch these by causing address 0 to contain an invalid address (see above), so operation on the value will cause a system bomb and/or your favorite debugger to come up. (I strongly suggest you use MacsBug or TMON, etc. with such an INIT....) This helps detect problems which could, undetected, corrupt random memory and thereby cause even worse problems. ++Brandon -- Brandon S. Allbery allbery@NCoast.ORG, BALLBERY (MCI Mail), ALLBERY (Delphi) uunet!cwjcc.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery ncoast!allbery@cwjcc.cwru.edu *(comp.sources.misc mail to comp-sources-misc[-request]@backbone.site, please)* *Third party vote-collection service: send mail to allbery@uunet.uu.net (ONLY)*