earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) (07/18/88)
Just got System Tools 6.0. My dealer, who is also the Dartmouth
Computer store and a NOVA dealer, wouldn't give me a copy because 6.0
has "bugs." Luckily, one of the clients of the library where my wife
works had just decided to buy a bunch of Mac IIs and install them in
the library for the students... How to get System Tools 6.0: Con
someone into buying a new Macintosh, then get them to let you copy the
System disks. Pathological curiosity impelled me to borrow the disks
and manuals, and try installing the stuff on my two Macs. Hey, I'm a
programmer, I know about bugs, and I wanted to see what Apple could
come up with.
First, the Mac Plus. Boot from System Tools disk 1. "This disk is
damaged. Do you want to erase it?" Hey, that's my NOVA! A call to
MicroTech resulted in a conversation with a very friendly techie who
assured me there was new stuff in the SCSI code, they were working on
a new driver, and please give us your address. OK, that's fine, but
it doesn't satisfy the pathological curiosity at all, now, does it?
Hmm, new code, must be in a patch somewhere, now where is that
description of System resources? Aha, here it is, PTCH #117, ROM
patches for the Mac Plus. Disassemble the sucker, look for
SetTrapAddress for SCSIDispatch. There it is, turn the SetTrapAddress
into a NOP! Whoa! Was that self-modifying code I just saw? Nah,
couldn't be! Boot from the modified System Tools 1 disk, here comes
the NOVA. Hey great, now lets try the dreaded Installer, I have
plenty of backups!
As far as I know, the Mac Plus ROMs have perfectly functional SCSI
code in them, and if I don't use Apple drivers or (yuch) Disk First
Aid, I will be alright with the Plus until MicroTech gets me a new
driver, or until Apple comes out with System Tools 7.0, whichever
comes first.
OK, install the new System, Finder, might as well move all the new
Fonts and DAs into my SuitCase files and get the new Font/DA mover.
Whoa! Font/DA Mover 3.8 calls Alert() when I press the "Remove"
button! "Are you SURE you want to remove the selected items?" Yeah,
buddy, I'm real sure! What do you have that button there for, anyway?
That thing actually BEEPED at me! Oh, well, I suppose it's only
cosmetic, and I don't use the program that much. I'd like the find
the guy who put that in, and beep at him a few times, though!
Hmm, new Installer scripts. "Minimal Mac Plus," "Minimal SE," and so
forth. I wonder whether Apple's idea of a minimal System coincides
with mine? Let's try it out. Well, I guess not, but thanks for the
thought anyway, Apple.
What's this? MacroMaker? Looks like an INIT, so lets pop it in the
System Folder and reboot. Wow! I love it! Execution of macros is a
bit slow, but it finally gives me an easy way to dial the phone in
MacKermit, and a whole lot else I haven't thought of yet. I bet my
MacroMaker menu gets about a mile long after a while. Thanks, Apple,
I really wanted this one, and I'm NOT kidding.
Hmm, CloseView for the visually impaired? Looks like an INIT, too.
Real nice if you need it. The only complaint I have is this: The
portion of the manual dealing with CloseView is in large type, but
THAT IS THE ONLY PORTION OF THE MANUAL IN LARGE TYPE. Uh, if I'm
visually impaired, and I buy a new Macintosh, then I can expect to
only be able to read about CloseView easily! Look, guys, either the
whole manual set in large type, or nothing! You don't suppose the
typical visually impaired person would want to use any other part of
the computer besides CloseView, now do you?
Map is nice, but whoever selected the cities is definitely on another
wavelength! Also, the projection is Mercator! Yuch! Ptui! The
world is round, folks, and we want to see it that way. I for one
would like to be able to look straight down on either pole if I felt
like it. What's the matter, boys, was the math too hard? Oh, I
forgot, I guess some of your machines, like my Plus here, don't do
math that well... Another thing, IM V says "Because cdevs are not
used routinely..." I personally don't think this thing belongs in the
Control Panel.
Well, the Plus installation went OK, let's try it on the Mac II. This
is a Mac II with all Apple components, Apple Color Monitor, Apple HD
SC 80, all types of good stuff in it. (Too bad I don't actually own
the beast.) The HD SC 80 was last initialized with Apple HD SC Setup
1.5; lets see whether the "Update" button works to bring the driver up
to 2.0. Nope, it doesn't, but then you really didn't expect it to,
did you, Earle? I guess not. It looks to me as if the "Compatibility
Boys" can't look far enough ahead to ensure compatibility for their
own software. I wonder if it uses any of the new junk that is now
hung off SCSIDispatch?
Oh, well, I'm a programmer, I'm paranoid, I have lots and lots of
current backups. Besides, I've been working with this disk for months
since the last crash, and it's probably fragmented as all get-out,
anyway. *Initialize!* Now I have a "Partition" button which
supposedly will give me further options, and maybe even allow me
(Please say it's true!) to partition my disk. Oh, yuch. It's for
A/UX! Sure I can partition my hard disk, but I can only make my HFS
partition smaller, and create other partitions that I don't have a
prayer of ever using. (Me? Use A/UX? You're kidding, right?) I
want the ability to partition my hard disk into two HFS partitions,
accessible from the Finder, and I suppose many other savvy "power
user" types want the same thing. I guess we're not getting it from
Apple this time around. Oh, well, initialize it to "Maximum
Macintosh" and load all my stuff back onto it. Sure runs faster with
all the files new, and maybe the new driver is even a little bit
faster than the old one, or am I imagining it?
Manual section: Figure A-1 in the "System Software User's Guide" gives
compatible software for various machines. It says Finder 4.1 is OK to
use with a 512Ke. NO, IT'S NOT! Finder 4.1 doesn't know squat about
HFS, and the 512Ke is an HFS machine. Figure 6.1 shows a picture of
an "Apple Keyboard for Macintosh SE and Macintosh II" that looks an
awful lot like the keyboard on my Plus. The "Macintosh Plus keyboard"
looks like an ADB keyboard to me! You guys who download System
software sure are missing some good laughs! Figures 3-20 and 3-21,
same manual, show LaserWriter Setup and Options dialog boxes. The
version number in the picture is clearly 5.5, while the version number
of the LaserWriter and Laser Prep files on the "Macintosh Printing
Tools" disk is 5.2 for both files. What's the story here?
Performance: Aside from some new tinsel and the SCSI debacle, I can't
see any real difference with System Tools 6.0 installed. I have had
no crashes so far, and haven't even seen a bomb box since I installed
the thing. QuickerGraf appears to be installed, which is nice for the
Mac II, so I threw the INIT file away. Maybe MultiFinder works better
than before, I can't say. I can't really come up with a good reason
for System Tools 6.0, other than maybe the new LaserWriters or
possibly just making everything work better. I was paranoid about
massive parts of my pulsar simulation program (still under
development) crashing under 6.0, but now I'm not worried at all. I
can't say that the person at the PC store who said it had "bugs" was
justified, but she was certainly right that it wouldn't work with the
NOVA.
So what is it? Do I now have a significantly better operating system
installed, or is this just a maintenance release, and is Apple getting
as bad as DEC with their new-version-of-VMS-each-month disease? I
can't complain, however: If this were DOS, I would have had to buy it.
---
"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than
for Silicon Valley to be the kingdom of Heaven."
Earle R. Horton. H.B. 8000, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755dwb@Apple.COM (David W. Berry) (07/19/88)
In article <9334@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) writes: >Oh, well, I'm a programmer, I'm paranoid, I have lots and lots of >current backups. Besides, I've been working with this disk for months >since the last crash, and it's probably fragmented as all get-out, >anyway. *Initialize!* Now I have a "Partition" button which >supposedly will give me further options, and maybe even allow me >(Please say it's true!) to partition my disk. Oh, yuch. It's for >A/UX! Sure I can partition my hard disk, but I can only make my HFS >partition smaller, and create other partitions that I don't have a >prayer of ever using. (Me? Use A/UX? You're kidding, right?) I >want the ability to partition my hard disk into two HFS partitions, >accessible from the Finder, and I suppose many other savvy "power >user" types want the same thing. I guess we're not getting it from >Apple this time around. Oh, well, initialize it to "Maximum >Macintosh" and load all my stuff back onto it. Sure runs faster with Actually, it could have multiple macintosh partitions created by selecting custom and then removing the large existing partition and creating several new small ones. >Earle R. Horton. H.B. 8000, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 Opinions: MINE, ALL MINE! (greedy evil chuckle) David W. Berry apple!dwb@sun.com dwb@apple.com 973-5168@408.MaBell
kaufman@polya.Stanford.EDU (Marc T. Kaufman) (07/19/88)
In article <14221@apple.Apple.COM> dwb@apple.apple.com.UUCP (David W. Berry) writes: >In article <9334@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) writes: ->I want the ability to partition my hard disk into two HFS partitions, ->accessible from the Finder, and I suppose many other savvy "power ->user" types want the same thing. I guess we're not getting it from ->Apple this time around. > Actually, it could have multiple macintosh partitions created >by selecting custom and then removing the large existing partition >and creating several new small ones. > >David W. Berry >apple!dwb@sun.com dwb@apple.com 973-5168@408.MaBell Unfortunately, I don't think Apple's driver supports more than 1 HFS partition on a single drive (the HD backup to tape certainly does not). Certainly, this COULD be done, but it requires that the driver be aware of which volume a file request is for, rather than just which (SCSI) device. Maybe next time. Marc Kaufman (kaufman@polya.stanford.edu)
dwb@Apple.COM (David W. Berry) (07/22/88)
In article <3299@polya.Stanford.EDU> kaufman@polya.Stanford.EDU (Marc T. Kaufman) writes: >In article <14221@apple.Apple.COM> dwb@apple.apple.com.UUCP (David W. Berry) writes: >>In article <9334@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) writes: >->I want the ability to partition my hard disk into two HFS partitions, >->accessible from the Finder, and I suppose many other savvy "power >->user" types want the same thing. I guess we're not getting it from >->Apple this time around. > >> Actually, it could have multiple macintosh partitions created >>by selecting custom and then removing the large existing partition >>and creating several new small ones. >> >>David W. Berry >>apple!dwb@sun.com dwb@apple.com 973-5168@408.MaBell > >Unfortunately, I don't think Apple's driver supports more than 1 HFS partition >on a single drive (the HD backup to tape certainly does not). Certainly, this >COULD be done, but it requires that the driver be aware of which volume a >file request is for, rather than just which (SCSI) device. Maybe next time. > >Marc Kaufman (kaufman@polya.stanford.edu) I've been corrected several times on this now and it appears that all corrections are in order. The current version of Apple's driver doesn't seem to support more than one partition per drive. Accordingly HD Setup removes "Macintosh" from the partition possiblities once you've made a mac partition. Sigh... I may have to stop answering questions. My hit rate is getting pretty low :-( Opinions: MINE, ALL MINE! (greedy evil chuckle) David W. Berry apple!dwb@sun.com dwb@apple.com 973-5168@408.MaBell