mha@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Mark H. Anbinder) (06/06/89)
Connectix has just shipped free upgrades to all registered owners of
Virtual, their virtual memory software for the Macintosh. The package
is postmarked 1 June, so assuming they got most of them out around the
same time, everyone should be getting their upgrades within the next
day or so.
The new version is 1.05, which for some users will be their first
upgrade. They are shipping version 1.05 of BOTH their Virtual products,
Virtual and Virtual '030, the latter for the SE/30, IIx, and IIcx.
If you have not returned your Virtual registration card, you should do
so immediately, indicating on the card which version you have so they
can send you an upgrade if appropriate. The letter which accompanies
the upgrade mentions that all Verion 1 upgrades will be sent free of
charge, in keeping with their upgrade policy. In addtion, Version 2
will also be sent to all registered users free of charge. Sounds like
good support to me! (No, there's no indication of when version 2 might
become available.)
Anyone who has questions or wishes to contact Connectix can call them
at 415-324-0727 (Pacific time).
According to the letter, version 1.05 provides enhanced capabilities,
including: [ quoted material... ]
* Speed improvements -- Up to 20-25% for some operations on a 1 Meg
machine. On a 2 Meg machine, improvement is somewhat lower (roughly
10-15%). On a 4 or 5 Meg machine, there is no noticeable improvement.
* 32-bit Color QuickDraw compatibility -- Virtual now works with this
new system option.
* SCSI and Scanner compatibility -- SCSI devices, including color
scanners, are now functional when used under MultiFinder.
* Ethernet compatibility -- Under certain conditions, Ethernet nodes
had problems during the boot phase of restarting. This has been
repaired.
* OmniPage -- You can now use OmniPage in both image and text scanning
modes with no problems.
* Large file I/O incompatibilities -- A few applications such as AutoCAD,
Canvas, and Digital Darkroom requested large read or write operations
and would sometimes fail during these operations. This has been
repaired.
* Low-level debugger compatibility -- Most low level debuggers (MacsBug,
TMON) will now have nearly full utility under virtual memory.
* Miscellaneous -- 'Virtually' every incompatibility problem of which we
have been informed has been repaired. Try your specific applications
to confirm functionality. (FullWrite, LightSpeed Pascal Debugger,
Spectrum 8 INIT, SmallTalk, etc...)
[ end of quoted material ]
Since I bought Virtual in January, the company has done everything it
could to help make it work properly for me, solving problems with the
SuperMac DataFrame hard drive I used it on, AND with FullWrite Professional.
Chances are, if you refrained from buying Virtual because of some specific
incompatibility, it's since been fixed.
If anyone has any questions about Virtual, I'd be happy to try to answer
them, or if I don't know the answer, I can call Connectix for you. Note
that I do not work for Connectix, but as a beta tester for the last several
months I'm familiar with the software and the people at Connectix.
Disclaimer: I have no connection with Connectix except as a VERY happy
customer, and a non-affiliated beta tester.
--
Mark H. Anbinder At Baka starting 8 June ** mha@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu
Baka Industries ** (biar!)memory!mha.uucp
200 Pleasant Grove Rd. H: (607) 257-7587 ********
Ithaca, NY 14850 W: (607) 257-2070 ******* "It's not safe out here." Q