info-mac-request@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (The Moderators) (05/14/91)
Info-Mac Digest Mon, 13 May 91 Volume 9 : Issue 107
Today's Topics:
2 modems/1 mac
Comm port programming queston
Handheld barcode readers
How Does a Mac. know what fonts are on the laser writer ?
HyperCard 2.0 and random selection
HyperCard 2.0 randomizing solutions
IP ADDRESSES
Jasmine Color Monitor
LaserWriter and IW Cable
LaserWriter Cables
Mac=>Vax connection.
MS Mail and Internet
Personal LaserWriter NT Cables
Speeding up Apple LaserWriter Plus
System 6.0.7 Compatibility - WDEF virus
ThinkC 4.0.5 Updater
Troub with Gatekeeper 1.2 (2 msgs)
warning for System 7.0 beta testers
Zmac from Internet?
Zoom 9600 baud Modem
RE: word processor translations
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 13 May 91 10:47:00 EDT
From: Richard (R.A.) Butt <RBUTT%BNR.CA@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: 2 modems/1 mac
re: 2 modems/1 mac question...
Actually you can run probably up to 14 modems on a Mac IIx, though
I've only tested it with 12 concurrently. Performance seems to drop
considerably after 8.
Both of the two serials ports Apple gives you, one for the printer
and the other for a modem, can be used with most communications
software packages as modem ports. Just connect your modem to either
and set-up the software appropriately.
To gain more ports you need to purchase serial nubus cards. Creative
Solutions makes a good one. These cards comes with 4 serial ports
each. As many nuBus slots you have will determine how many serial
ports you can accumulate.
The problem now is you have no way of initializing these serial
ports (internally labeled .CIn/.Cout, .DIn/.DOut, etc) with the
normal communications software that comes with modems. There are
shareware utilities that will reconfigure your serial ports for you.
Or you can write your own software to control each port and each modem
uniquely. I wrote software to control up to 14 ports. It's really
something to see you Mac sending and receiving files, concurrently,
through 8 different serial ports!!!!
- Richard Butt
Macintosh Programmer
Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
------------------------------
Date: 13 May 91 10:40:00 EDT
From: Richard (R.A.) Butt <RBUTT%BNR.CA@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Comm port programming queston
A "buffer" is simply as a area of memory you set aside, usually to
fill up with some data. In Pascal, I'd set up a buffer as such:
VAR
tempHandle : Handle;
byteCount : Longint;
errorCode : Integer;
BEGIN
byteCount := 1000;
tempHandle := NewHandle(byteCount);
errorCode := FSRead(someRefNum, byteCount, tempHandle*);
....there you go. You're just read some data into your buffer,
which you had to dereference from a handle to a pointer. The
little * is meant to show a dereference symbol.
Hope that simply answers your question!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 1991 15:28:13 EDT
From: GILBERT@vax.wi.edu (William Gilbert)
Subject: Handheld barcode readers
I need some information on reading data from handheld barcode scanners. We are
putting together a system do an equipment inventory of our Institute. Several
barcode vendors have offered us PC based systems into which the data is dumped
after a session of recording. We are fairly good Mac programmers here and
would like to use 4D to massage the data but have no idea how these scanners
"dump their data". How do they work? I presume they send data as a stream via
an RS-232 line. All hints and vendor recommendation will be gratefully
appreciated.
Will Gilbert
gilbert@vax.wi.edu
------------------------------
Date: 13 May 91 15:41:06 GMT
From: cg-atla!kincaid@cg-atla.agfa.com (Tom Kincaid )
Subject: How Does a Mac. know what fonts are on the laser writer ?
Could somebody please explain to me how an Mac. application knows what
fonts are on an output device ?
Thank you,
Tom Kincaid
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 08:37:02 +0800
From: bcarter@claven.idbsu.edu
Subject: HyperCard 2.0 and random selection
>I would like to know if anyone knows of a way to randomize the order of cards
>in a Hypercard stack. I am writing a stack for psychological testing that
>requires that the 15 cards in the stack appear in a random order. If there is
>an XCMD or other solution out there, please let me know! Thanks!
>
>Doug Berry
>(Send replies to DBERRY@UMAB.UMD.EDU)
One way to do this is to use a random shuffle as in the following:
put number of cards in background "Questions" into totalQuestions
repeat with i=1 to totalQuestions --make question list
put i into line i of questionList
end repeat
repeat with i=1 to totalQuestions --shuffle questions
put random(totalQuestions) into q1
put random(totalQuestions) into q2
put line q1 of questionList into temp
put line q2 of questionList into line q1 of questionList
put temp into line q2 of questionList
end repeat
Then use questionList as an index to "go" to the correct card.
This lets you present the questions in a randomized order without affecting the
actual order of the cards in the stack. This is just quick and dirty, of
course. You may want a more sophisticated randomization.
Bruce Carter - Internet: bcarter@claven.idbsu.edu - Bitnet: duscarte@idbsu
------------------------------
Date: 13 May 1991 09:48:42 EDT
From: dberry <DBERRY%UMAB.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: HyperCard 2.0 randomizing solutions
Fellow netters:
A very, very big "Thanks" to all of you who repied to my question about
randomizing card order in a HyperCard stack. I have received a few ideas
that I would like to share with all of you, FYI.
Doug Berry <dberry@umab.umd.edu>
University of Maryland at Baltimore
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
1. The most popular reply: using a hidden field, place a random() into
it and sort the cards on that field.
2. mark all cards
if there is a marked card then go any marked card
...and before leaving a card, unmark this card
3. go any card
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Thanks again for your responses!
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 91 15:06:26 EST
From: Murph Sewall <SEWALL%UCONNVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: IP ADDRESSES
On Fri, 10 May 91 11:11:39 SST you said:
>Can someone please supply me with the internet addresses of the following
>sites?
Just because a host has a domain-style address, it doesn't necessarily
have an IP number (Apple.Com has an IP number, most hosts *.Apple.Com
do not - apple.com simply handles their mail from the Internet).
If you haven't direct access to a name server you can send email to
nslookup@sh.cs.net
(subject ignored)
host.domain
host2.domain
etc.
>Is there a file of ftp-hosts with IP-addresses available?
If I understand a message I received recently from John Quarteman, the
number if IP sites now tops 280,000; do you really want a complete list?
In short, the net has really gotten way to large for casual mucking about.
There are services (Archie for example) to help you find particular things
you may be looking for.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 15:56:15 PDT
From: gregl@freia.jpl.nasa.gov (Greg Lyzenga)
Subject: Jasmine Color Monitor
Netfolks:
I have been contemplating the purchase of a Mac LC system for home,
however I've been a bit apprehensive about whether I would be satisfied
with the smaller 12" RGB monitor, given the fact that I've become spoiled
by my full 640x480 pixel color monitor at work. The other day I got an ad
in the mail from Jasmine advertising their 640x480 color monitor at a very
attractive price.
Now I am aware of all the scuttlebutt concerning Jasmine's less than
wonderful reputation with regard to fulfilling mail orders, etc. What I
want to know is besides these misgivings about the company, does anyone
know if the monitor is a good product? Would I be happier with it than the
smaller Apple 12" RGB (assuming I'm too cheap to spring for Apple's 13"
monitor) ? Any advice or experiences (hearsay or otherwise) would be
appreciated.
- Greg Lyzenga
gregl@freia.jpl.nasa.gov
------------------------------
Date: 13 May 91 15:11 GMT
From: KURAS@applelink.apple.com (Kuras, Patrick)
Subject: LaserWriter and IW Cable
>Here is a mystery I could use some help solving.
>I just bought a Personal LaserWriter NT and asked
>the dealer (what I thought was) a simple question.
>Namely, "What do I use to connect this thing to my
>SE at home?" His first response was that I could simply
>use an Imagewriter cable if all I was doing was connecting
>one Mac to one printer. He did some checking for me and
>came up with these differing responses:
>1. You must use LocalTalk type connector because line
> interference could fry the motherboards with just an
> ImageWriter cable. (This came second-hand from an Apple
> Technician)
>2. The above stated argument is simply a ploy for dealers to
> sell you a more expensive cable. (This supposedly also came
> second-hand from an Apple Tech!)
>3. We've never had a problem with using an ImageWriter cable
> and it saves our non-networking customers money.
The System Peripheral 8 Cable (AKA the ImageWriter Cable) will work when
connecting a single Mac to a single LaserWriter. However, because of the
confusion that could arise from different cable configurations in different
installations, Apple does not support this configuration. It's all an issue of
simplicity. If Apple blessed completely different cabling schemes for different
configurations, the support problems for dealers and campus resellers would be
a nightmare.
Also, in most installations (offices, workgroups), the likelihood that a 1
Mac-1 LaserWriter network will stay that way is pretty small. This way, if you
start with the right cables, it's easier to add more Macs in the future.
>
>I looked at the manual and Apple seems to assume that you are
>going to use a LocalTalk connector box. What gives with all this?
>I looked at the report on Nate Hawthorn's CapNet and he talked
>about problems only if the two units were using a different
>ground (i.e. in different buildings.)
I can see where this might make sense. I have used the Sys8 cable configuration
myself and never had problems.
>Am I mixing apples (sorry)
>and oranges here? I'd appreciate some advice since it will be
>awhile before I will have a network at home. I don't want to
>spend any more money than I have to for awhile (I'm still trying
>to explain a laser printer to my wife!) Thanks ahead of time.
If you want to do this, and you understand what you're doing (building a 2 node
AppleTalk network that can never expand, a provocative concept), I'd say it's
OK, but be prepared to face some confused dealer support people if you ever
have a problem and need their assistance.
Good luck,
pat
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 14:06:56 EDT
From: Kathy S Brown <KATHY@brownvm.brown.edu>
Subject: LaserWriter Cables
>From: Robert Pierce <piercer@nv-ngnet.army.mil>
>Subject: Personal LaserWriter NT Cables
>
>Namely, "What do I use to connect this thing to my
>SE at home?" His first response was that I could simply
>use an Imagewriter cable if all I was doing was connecting
>one Mac to one printer. He did some checking for me and
Well I can't speak for the Personal LW NT, but if its anything like
the LWII NT, an ImageWriter cable works just fine. I've been using
this setup at home for over 2 years without any hardware problems.
Works fine with MacPlus, SE and SE/030. A "hardware expert" friend
came up with this and he's an Apple certified technician so I trust
his opinion that it would work fine & it has.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 13:35 EST
From: Matt <SMH9666%OBERLIN.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Mac=>Vax connection.
Howdy.
Could anyone out there relay information as to how to write a terminal
emulator (VT100) in pascal to be used with a dead-line vax connection?
I have somewhat of a grasp on serial drivers and routines, but specifically
how does one set breaks (or how long should they be set for) and transmit
or receive data. Right now, all I'm getting is a bunch of jibberish.
I could manage to interpret examples in C, though Pascal would be preffered.
Thank You,
Matt Hall.
SMH9666@Oberlin
------------------------------
Date: 13 May 91 15:11 GMT
From: KURAS@applelink.apple.com (Kuras, Patrick)
Subject: MS Mail and Internet
>Is Microsoft Mail a good mail system? Does it have an interface to
>Internet-type mail. If this isn't the right list to ask those questions,
>the right list doesn't exist.
>
> Bob
Bob:
I prefer QuickMail for several reasons, some of them personal, some of them
technical, but I do think it has a better system for connecting to the rest of
the world. Contact CE Software at (515) 224-1995 for more info.
pat
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 91 15:14:23 EST
From: Murph Sewall <SEWALL%UCONNVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Personal LaserWriter NT Cables
On Thu, 9 May 91 17:27:26 PDT you said:
>Namely, "What do I use to connect this thing to my
>SE at home?" His first response was that I could simply
>use an Imagewriter cable if all I was doing was connecting
>one Mac to one printer. He did some checking for me and
>came up with these differing responses:
>1. You must use LocalTalk type connector because line
I don't know whether you can get away with a serial cable, but one pretty
good reason for using an AppleTalk connection (which I DID buy with
my Personal LaserWriter NT) is that then backgroud printing works. If you
print anything that takes awhile (one page with mixed text and graphics or
a bunch of pages of text), you'll REALLY be glad you have background printing!
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 91 22:13:53 EDT
From: jyoo@elbereth.rutgers.edu (J-S Yoo)
Subject: Speeding up Apple LaserWriter Plus
Hi,
Any suggestions and/or how-to's to speed up the printer? The first
thing that comes to my mind is to add more memory, if possible, except getting
a new printer (yes, we plan to have a new one in the future). How effective
will the memory addition be?
Since we are not using the built-in PostScript in the printer, we have
to download the necessary fonts to the printer memory every time. Because of
this downloading into the limited printer memery, we can use only a few fonts
in the document. Now the question follows. As for the printers with a hard-
disk drive such as Apple's NTX, what's going on while printing the document.
I know that we don't have to download the fonts to the printer, but are we
still limited with a few fonts allowed by the printer memory? Also, if we
print the next document which contains different fonts, what happens?
The last question is: can we connect a hard-disk to the printers such as
LaserWriter Plus and NT (which come with no hard-disks) and if the connection
is possible, can the connected hard-disk acts as a second hard-disk for the
computer also?
Much thanks and please e-mail.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 91 04:13:33 PDT
From: REM@suwatson.stanford.edu
Subject: System 6.0.7 Compatibility - WDEF virus
<<Date: 04 May 91 00:01 GMT -- From: KURAS@applelink.apple.com (Kuras,
Patrick) -- We have found that the WDEF virus is incompatible with 6.0.7
and will cause serious system crashes.>>
(:- Damn, I'll have to buy an upgrade for the WDEF virus when I upgrade
my system to 6.0.7 to allow running HyperCard 2.0; Does anybody know how
much the WDEF upgrade will cost and who supplies it? -:)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 09:00:05 PST
From: ISCJCW@uccvma.ucop.edu
Subject: ThinkC 4.0.5 Updater
>From: Jerry Wilcox ISCJCW@UCCVMA (415)987-0516
Subject: ThinkC 4.0.5 Updater
In case anyone else is as confused as I am at the sudden appearance of the
updater for Think C version 4.0.5, perhaps I can help. I am assuming that the
updater here on InfoMac is the same one I downloaded from CompuServe last
week.
The updater package actually contains two sets of updates: the update from
version 4.0 to 4.0.2, and the update from 4.0.2 to 4.0.5. I don't know what
happened to version 4.0.3, I never saw anything about it. Version 4.0.4 was a
beta test version of the System 7-compatible ThinkC.
The bottom line is if you are still running vanilla 4.0, you should get this
updte and apply both the 4.0.2 and 4.0.5 updates. If you have already updated
to 4.0.2, all you will need to do is the 4.0.5 update.
BTW: the System 7 version is not totally System 7 compatible - ThinkC itself
is not 32-bit clean, although with proper coding and setting of the attribute
flags, applications developed with it are 32-bit clean. Secondly, version
4.0.5 runs fine on System 6.x (I've tested it on 6.0.5), so you can go ahead
and update now.
If the University wanted me to speak for it, I'd have a different job!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 11:52:41 EST
From: Chris Jones <CHMCHRIS@vm.uoguelph.ca>
Subject: Troub with Gatekeeper 1.2
Hello all.
I came to work today, and retrieved Gatekeeper 1.2. All went fine until
I installed it in the system folder. When Gatekeeper goes to
load, the icon gets shown, then *poof*, kicked into macsbug. Error says
'invalid instruction at some_ridiculously_high_number'. I'm using
6.0.7, a bunch of inits, (none of which get installed before gatekeeper)
on a IIcx.
Anyone else have any troubles with Gatekeeper?
Chris Jones
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 18:08:46 EST
From: Chris Jones <CHMCHRIS@vm.uoguelph.ca>
Subject: Troub with GateKeeper 1.2
In answer to my own question earlier, I have found the 32 Bit quickdraw
init to be the culprit. (Don't ask me why) but this is the init that makes
the difference at startup. so, I have since removed 32 bit quick draw.
If the author of Gatekeeper is reading, do you have any idea how this
could happen?
Chris Jones
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 9:23:03 MDT
From: btombaug@isis.cs.du.edu (Brad Tombaugh)
Subject: warning for System 7.0 beta testers
I found out yesterday from a reliable source in the tech support staff
of a well known Mac software developer that they have discovered an
obscure bug in Apple HFS directory structure that interacts badly with
System 7 betas (anything before Golden Master).
The deal is that the "B-tree" portion of your drive directory can be
corrupted to the point where you may have files/folders whose icons
appear normally, but you can't open, move, or trash them. The friend I
talked with had this problem with his System file, and it got to the
point that not only couldn't he open the file, but eventually the type
and creator got lost, and his Mac wouldn't boot.
DON'T PANIC!
Apple fixed the problem with System 7.0 Golden Master, so this won't
happen to users of the release version, and they added a fix routine to
the the 7.0 GM Disk First Aid utility to repair the problem for beta
testers.
After you update to GM (or later...) run Disk First Aid. If it tells
you no repairs necessary, then you're fine. If it says "making minor
repairs" then it found the problem (or something else...). Sometimes it
CAN'T repair the damage. If DFA made repairs, run it again. If the
second pass comes back with "no repairs needed" then you are OK. If if
tells you that it's "making minor repairs" again, then your directory
may be hosed. The brute force fix is to backup your drive, reformat,
then restore. That seems to be the only way to repair it if DFA can't
do it.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 17:42:59 cdt
From: charles@calshp.cals.wisc.edu
Subject: Zmac from Internet?
Possible to send mail to Zmac (on-line service of MacUser) from Internet?
charles@calshp.cals.wisc.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 11:29:53 EST
From: Jamer <PET101@ukcc.uky.edu>
Subject: Zoom 9600 baud Modem
Well,
A while ago I posted a request for opinions on the new Zoom 9600 baud
modem; Y'know, it's cheap but is it any good. I own one of their 2400 baud
modems, and like it, but have heard nothing but horror stories about the
one with sendfax. Unfortunately, not many people replied, outside of the
people who wanted a summary of responses. So, from the few replies I did get,
here's a summary:
========================================================================
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 91 20:51:59 -0900
>From: "AB J KUENZLI" <FTAJK@ALASKA>
The Zoom modems are NOT 9600 baud, they are 2400 - if you are thinking
about the ones I am. They are advertized to be 9600 baud because if they
are used with another v42 on the other end and if the lines are clean they
can potentially hit 9600. Still, they are VERY good modems by all I have read
and that's all I can tell you. I am advising my wife to get one.
======================================================================== 18
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BSMTP id 8595; Thu, 18 Apr 91 09:29:38 EST
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1991 08:31 CDT
>From: Jeffrey Austen <JRA1854@TNTECH.BITNET>
I don't have the 9600 bps modem and haven't even seen that one
advertised yet. However, I do have the relatively new Zoom V.42bis 2400
bps modem. So far I am happy with it and it seems well constructed
(metal box!), has a good manual, and has worked fine for me -- I have
had it only two days, though.
Jeff Austen, jra1854@tntech.bitnet
======================================================================== 28
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Thu, 18 Apr 91 12:43:27 EST
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Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 09:43:46 PST
>From: ISCJCW@uccvma.ucop.edu
To: PET101@ukcc.uky.edu
Subject: Zoom Modems
>From: Jerry Wilcox ISCJCW@UCCVMA (415)987-0516
Subject: Zoom Modems
Because the v.42bis modem is so new, I haven't seen any specific comments yet.
Zoom has a kind of checkered reputation though. I bought a fax modem from them
(2400 baud) which was very deficient in the basic functions of a modem (have si
nce switched to a DoveFax). Posting on GEnie and other echoes disclosed that so
me people have had great luck with Zoom modems; others have nothing but headach
es. I'm sort of looking for a 9600 baud modem myself, but am going to hang back
and let things settle down a bit. I certainly wouldn't rush out to buy the Zoo
m.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 May 91 15:36:20 -0400
From: cs483106@umbc5.umbc.edu (cs483106)
Subject: RE: word processor translations
Note
Some time ago I had to translate some IBM Wordperfect files into MacWrite II
format. The first thing I did was to transfer the files to my mac via
DosMounter, and open them with MacWrite II. However, this did NOT convert the
graphics that the file contained. The next thing I tried(which worked), was to
use AFE(with --I beleive-- the 'MacLink' translators). These translators
did the job quite nicely, and the graphics were quite usable once in the
MacWrite II file.
"Pope" Q.E.D
Michael KOhne
mikek@isis.ngs.noaa.gov
(P.S. I'm sorry I don't have more info on exactly what the translators were,
they belonged to a guy at work, whose machine I used to do the transfer)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 14:23:14 EDT
From: CUHAZARI%ECUVM1.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu
I would like to connect a Mac LC to a HP LaserJet II. What is the best
way to do this?
Any help will be appreciated
Neil Hazari
cuhazari@ecuvm1
------------------------------
End of Info-Mac Digest
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