Info-Mac-Request@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (The Moderators) (08/13/90)
Info-Mac Digest Sun, 12 Aug 90 Volume 8 : Issue 143
Today's Topics:
[*] Gatekeeper Aid 1.0.2 RELEASED
a fontain of info
Locking the System Area
Micron Xceed IIci-128 Cache Card for Mac IIci
Murph's VAPORWARE Column for August 1990
PC Screen Dumps on the Macintosh
Question on Virtual Memory
Statistics software for the Mac
tcsh on a/ux 2.0?
Your Info-Mac Moderators are Bill Lipa, Lance Nakata, and Jon Pugh.
The Info-Mac archives are available (by using FTP, account anonymous,
any password) in the info-mac directory on sumex-aim.stanford.edu
[36.44.0.6]. Help files are in /info-mac/help. Indices are in
/info-mac/help/recent-files.txt and /info-mac/help/all-files.txt.
Please send articles and binaries to info-mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu.
Send administrative mail to info-mac-request@sumex-aim.stanford.edu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 90 02:54:21 -0500
From: chrisj@emx.utexas.edu (Chris Johnson)
Subject: [*] Gatekeeper Aid 1.0.2 RELEASED
Gatekeeper Aid 1.0.2
(c) 1990 by Chris Johnson
Gatekeeper Aid is a Startup document (INIT) designed to automatically
hunt and kill all known strains of the WDEF virus, as well as possible
future strains and related viruses. It should be used to augment the
Gatekeeper anti-virus system and may also be used to augment other
anti-virus tools.
Version 1.0.2 of Gatekeeper Aid is designed to correct a number of
problems that surfaced in version 1.0.1. A complete list of these
problems is included in the documentation. In addition, version 1.0.2
improves Gatekeeper Aid's protections and adds some new features
including the ability to retroactively correct a bug in existing
versions of Gatekeeper that is responsible for about 90% of all the
Internal Errors reported.
Users of Gatekeeper Aid are strongly encouraged to upgrade to this
latest version. Users of anti-virus systems that don't automatically
detect AND REMOVE the WDEF virus are strongly encouraged to use
Gatekeeper Aid to augment their current systems.
Also included with Gatekeeper Aid 1.0.2 is a document which provides a
quick preview of Gatekeeper 2.0.
----Chris (Johnson)
----chrisj@emx.utexas.edu
DISCLAIMER: My employer is neither involved with, nor responsible
for, Gatekeeper and Gatekeeper Aid.
[Archived as /info-mac/virus/gatekeeper-aid-102.hqx; 93K]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 90 17:16:08 CDT
From: Marshall Carroll <NU163467@vm1.nodak.edu>
Subject: a fontain of info
Hi. Thank you Jim. Bruce, Larry, Mingzuo, Joe, Holla
Greeny, MJV, William, Richard, FTAJK, Michael, Jonathon, Scott
and Mark for all your help re my font requests and questions.
Sincerely, Marshall
p.s. the following excerpt from one of the replies will hopefully
help other novices:
Font size is measured in points,
with a point being about 1/72 of an inch. Thus, a 72-point font should have
letters about 1 inch tall (roughly - sometimes fonts vary from their "official"
sizes). Normal font sizes are 10 point ("Elite") and 12 point ("Pica").
The most important thing you need to know about a font is
whether it is a BITMAP font or a POSTSCRIPT font. A bitmap font is just a
series of dots and spaces, like so:
.......
...o...
...o...
.ooooo.
...o... ("." means empty space, "o" means dot)
...o...
...o...
...oo..
.......
The size of the letter depends on the size of the dots used to print the
letter. On the ImageWriter, dots are about 1/72 of an inch square, so the "t"
above would print out fairly small. Since our dots and spaces are arranged
on an 8-by-8 grid, our "t" will be 8/72 of an inch tall (on the ImageWriter),
or in other words, it would be part of an 8-point font.
What if we want our "t" to be larger, or what if our dots are smaller? For
example, I expect your laser printer uses dots that are only 1/300th of an
inch, less than 1/4 the size of the dots the ImageWriter uses. Using dots this
small, our 8-dot-by-8-dot "t" shrinks to just under 2 points tall - far too
small to read. The solution, of course, is to fill in dots on a larger grid.
Instead of an 8x8 grid, use a 32x32 grid and fill in the dots and spaces so
that it prints out as an 8-point "t".
What this means is that if you are using BITMAPPED fonts, you need a
different bitmap (grid) for each different font size you want to use.
Naturally, the bigger the font, the bigger the bitmap has to be. This eats up
storage space and gets generally cumbersome.
Fortunately, a company called "Adobe" developed a
different way of representing fonts. Instead of using bitmaps, Adobe created a
way of mathematically describing the shapes of the letters themselves. This
method, called PostScript, makes it possible to print our a font any size you
want, without needing all those bitmaps taking up space on your hard disk.
PostScript is actually a full-fledged programming language, and it's a bit
too complex for me to give you a meaningful sample, but the process it goes
through amounts to something like this:
Move to (0, 0)
Pen down
Go North 5 units
Pen up
Go South 3 units
Pen down
Go East 3 units
Pen up
Go North 3 units
Pen down
Go South 5 units
Pen up
Done.
Well, this looks more like Logo than PostScript, but the point I want to
illustrate is that this description (of a capital "H", did you get that?) can
be used to print an "H" any size we want. All we have to do is tell PostScript
to make a "unit" be 2 points, and the above description will print a 10-point
"H". If we say to make a "unit" be 4 points, the above description will print
a 20-point "H". We can even set "unit" to 2.75 and get a 13.75-point "H"!
ImageWriter fonts are BITMAPPED. Apple tried to set up a tradition that all
BITMAPPED fonts are named after cities and POSTSCRIPT fonts are named after -
well, something else. Example: Geneva is a bitmapped font, whereas Helvetica
is a PostScript font. They're both essentially the same font (i.e. the letters
are shaped the same) except that Geneva is optimized for printing on an
ImageWriter and Helvetica is optimized (looks best) for printing on a
LaserWriter.
LaserWriter fonts are POSTSCRIPT fonts. Actually, on the Macintosh, all laser
fonts include both a PostScript font and a bitmapped font. This is because the
Macintosh itself does not understand PostScript, so it needs the bitmapped
fonts to display the letters on the screen. In other words, the Mac uses the
bitmap font while you are editing a document, then when you go to print it, the
LaserWriter uses the PostScript version of the same font. In general,
PostScript gives you much nicer printouts than the bitmapped fonts.
***** Specific answers
1) Can an ImageWriter [bitmapped] font work on a laser printer? Yes, with
certain limits. The Mac automatically substitutes certain PostScript fonts for
certain bitmapped fonts. Specifically, Helvetica is substituted for Geneva,
Times for New York, and Courier for Monaco. If you are using a bitmapped font
for which there is no automatic substitution (Venice, for instance), the Mac
will still print out the font. Since the laser printer dots are only 1/4 the
size of the ImageWriter dots, however, the letters will also shrink by a factor
of 4. Not to worry! The Mac knows this will happen, so it compensates by
substituting a font four times bigger. For example, if you want to print
12-point Venice, the Mac will actually send the printer a 48-point Venice. The
printer will then shrink it back down to 12-point, and everything is cheery.
But what if you don't have Venice 48? Well, the Mac will "create" it by
"enlarging" the nearest size it can find. Sometimes it looks ok, sometimes it
doesn't. MORAL: if you want to print bitmapped fonts on a laser printer, make
sure you have the font that is four times the size of the font you want to
print.
2) Do all laser fonts work on ImageWriters? Yes, because the Mac requires that
each PostScript font also have a bitmap font for display on the Macintosh
screen. If you can see it on your screen, you can print it on your
ImageWriter. Note, however, that some fonts, such as Helvetica, are designed
primarily to look good on the LaserWriter, and do not look as nice either on
the screen or on the ImageWriter.
3) Do laser fonts have to have the string "laser" in their name? No. Most
don't.
4) What are Adobe fonts and how are they different from other fonts? Adobe
is a private company that publishes PostScript fonts. Their competitors are
Bitstream, Casady & Greene, and worthy companies whose names escape me at the
moment. Do Adobe fonts work only on the LaserWriter? No, they will work on
any PostScript-compatible printer, including some of the HP laser printers, all
the way up to Linotronic and Compugraphic 2500 dpi imagesetters.
Also EduCorp (800-843-9497) is a good source for PD
fonts and other PD software; they have a free catalog that will give you a look
at some of the fonts before you invest in them, and the cost per disk can be as
low as $7 (multiple fonts per disk).
Final hint: get Adobe Type Manager, especially if your laser printer is not
PostScript-compatible. ATM is like having a little bit of PostScript built
into your Mac: it lets you display fonts in any size you want, without needing
all those bitmaps. It comes with the fonts Times, Helvetica, Courier, and
Symbol, and works with any Adobe PostScript fonts.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 90 18:22:03 EST
From: Peter Sweeney <PS9ZRHMC%MIAMIU.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
Subject: Locking the System Area
Greeting from Miami University in Ohio!!
We have a LAN of Mac SEs at Miami. Each Mac has local 20 meg Hard Drive.
Using SilverLining, we have partitioned each drive into 3 volumes:
Local System Area, 0Temp Data, and Local Programs. Using Cirrus
Volumes, we have locked the Local Programs partition. Using
ResEdit, we made the System Folder (in Local System Area) invisible.
The 0Temp Data partition is available for student use.
Here's the problem: we would like to lock the Local System Area partition
as well. However, we also need to use the Chooser DA, because we have
several print devices available. As some of you know, you can't use
the Chooser from a locked disk. Is there a way, or a program that will
allow us to lock the Local System Area AND use the Chooser?
Any response is welcome.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Sweeney |
Microcomputer Consultant | Diplomacy: A-H, Hiroshima
901 Arrowhead Drive #25 | BITNET:ps9zrhmc@miamiu
Oxford, Ohio 45056 | INTERNET:ps9zrhmc@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu
(513) 523-4456 |
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 90 02:33 PDT
From: Gann Matsuda <IYI4DTN@oac.ucla.edu>
Subject: Micron Xceed IIci-128 Cache Card for Mac IIci
Just installed the Micron Xceed IIci-128 Cache Card into my IIci,
and I immediately noticed an improvement in performance.
The Micron card has 128K of 25ns static RAM that fits into the
cache connector slot on the IIci logic board. The card comes with
a cdev that controls the card. Using the cdev, you can enable or
disable the cache, activate/deactivate SANE traps and turn on/off
the icon at startup.
With the limited experience I have had with the Daystar card and
now with this one, I can say that a cache card does not speed up
overall performance that much. You probably won't notice much
difference in many uses (bootup, opening/closing programs/files,
etc.). However, when you are using a program that is disk
intensive or does a lot of number-crunching, you will be blown
away, although the IIfx blows everything away.
For example, Excel recalculations were nearly instantaneous in some
of my larger spreadsheets. Panorama's performance, especially
when moving from screen to screen and when running macros was
accelerated considerably. Performance increases were also
noticable in 4D. Anyone using SPSS 4.0 will also be very happy.
In MS Word, hyphenation and spelling were sped up. ATM also
renders screen fonts faster. Scrolling in CricketDraw, once
unbearably slow, is now quick and smooth. Don't have anything to
work with in FreeHand, so I can't test that yet. I have yet to
test PageMaker 3.02 and 4.0.
The CDEV that accompanies the card is ok, but don't try to run it
AFTER the Aask Init from CE Software If you do, it will bomb with
an error code of ID = 10. After speaking with Micron's tech
support, I found that they didn't know about that problem.
However, they do recommend running the CDEV first because it
supposedly improves performance. Despite that, they should still
fix the CDEV so that it doesn't bomb just because it wasn't run
first (whether the problem is with the Micron cdev or Aask, I
don't know. Whereever the problem lies, the two companies should
put their heads together and fix it.
Micron needs to include a utility application so the user can
test the card. Simple tests for the card, just enough so the user
knows the card is working properly should suffice. Such a
utility could also help tech support diagnose problems with the
card when an owner calls.
The documentation for the card is poor. It is a little 6 page
pamphlet that details the warranties for the card and the software,
but tells little about the card itself other than how to install
it. There should be some detailed information about what the
card does (you can't assume that everyone who obtains one will know
EXACTLY what it does) and how it does it. It should clearly
explain what types of applications will take the most advantage of
the cache card and why others aren't accelerated as much.
Technical support seems to be ok. Micron has a toll-free number!
Wow! I haven't seen one of those for tech support in a LONG time!
Although I didn't reach a tech right away, one did call me back
within an hour. That's A LOT more than I can say for MANY other
companies. I wish there were on GEnie, however.
Their warranty, as stated in their manual, is for one year.
However, if you send in the registration form within 30 days of
purchase, Micron will extend the warranty to 5 years. Why don't
they just offer a 5 year warranty? The only reason I can think of
that they use this "warranty scheme" is that some of the mail-
order companies offer 30-day money-back guarantees if you aren't
satisfied. Perhaps this is Micron's way of enticing you to keep
the product. To me, they don't need to do this. Look like they've
got a high-quality product that works the way it is supposed to.
It turns a stock IIci into a much faster machine.
Compared to the Daystar card, the price is right. The last retail
price I've seen for the Daystar card was $995, although I've seen
it for as low as $754 (I think there may be a few mail-order places
that sell it for a bit lower). The Micron card retails at $719,
but Mac Connection is currently selling it for $589. In addition,
the Daystar card has 64K RAM, and the Micron card has 128K RAM.
Byte for byte, the Micron card is a better buy.
Barring any unforeseen problems in the near future, I
wholeheartedly recommend the Micron Xceed-IIci-128 cache card for
anyone that works with databases, statistical, math, graphics, or
any other disk-intensive or number-crunching work. If you don't,
save your money.
Gann Matsuda
UCLA Asian American Studies Center
BITNET: IYI4DTN@UCLAMVS
ARPANET: IYI4DTN@oac.ucla.edu
INTERNET: IYI4DTN@UCLAMVS.BITNET
GEnie: G.MATSUDA
P.S. I have no connection with Micron, other than owning this
product.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 1990 17:47:00 EDT
From: Murph Sewall <Sewall%UConnVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Murph's VAPORWARE Column for August 1990
VAPORWARE
Murphy Sewall
From the August 1990 APPLE PULP
H.U.G.E. Apple Club (E. Hartford) News Letter
$15/year U.S. - $18/year Canadian
P.O. Box 18027
East Hartford, CT 06118
Call the "Bit Bucket" (203) 569-8739
Permission granted to copy with the above citation
"Windows puts a stake in the heart of OS/2. I don't see
OS/2 going anywhere." - Sun Microsystems VP Bill Joy
MS-DOS 5.0
Beta testers say DOS 5.0, intended for release this fall, is
smaller, faster, and has an array of nifty new utilities.
The new version frees memory on 286 and 386 machines with at
least 64K of extended memory by relocating part of the
operating system above the conventional 640K address space.
On a 1 Mbyte machine, DOS 5.0 leaves as much as 630K for
applications while DOS 4.01 on the same computer allows less
than 584K. Virtual Memory windows in Windows 3.0 will each
gain about 40K according to Microsoft product manager Mark
Chesnut. Other features include a full screen editor,
replacement of GW Basic with Microsoft's Quick Basic,
context sensitive on-line help, and an "unformat" command
which allows users to recover hard disk data in cases of an
inadvertent format command. The final version also may
include memory management features that permit loading
memory resident software and network drivers in memory above
the DOS address space. - PC Week 2 July
Slimmed Down OS/2
IBM showed a five to ten percent faster version of OS/2
which takes less than 2 Mbytes of RAM at June's PC Expo.
Big Blue is shipping beta versions of OS/2 1.2 to
independent software vendors but has declined to comment on
a possible commercial release date.
- PC Week and InfoWorld 25 June
Windows 3.1?
Bill Gates told developers at July's OS/2 LAN Manager
conferene that Windows will be upgraded in "less than a
year." The new version will include True Type scalable-font
technology as well as size and performance enhancements.
- InfoWorld 16 July
Multiuser OS/2
Citrix Systems is developing a multiuser version of OS/2
that could challenge low-end Unix systems by offering small
businesses comparable capabilities for about one-tenth the
price. Citrix has licensed OS/2 source code from Microsoft
and hopes to offer compatibility with existing
character-based OS/2 applications and eventually
Presentation Manager applications. IBM has said that it
intends to provide multiuser capabilities in OS/2 but has
not said how or when. Citrix expects to ship late this year
or early in the first quarter of 1991. - InfoWorld 2 July
OS/2 NT
Microsoft insiders are predicting a multiprocessing version
of OS/2 completely rewritten in C by the first quarter of
1992. This operating system is tentatively known as OS/2 NT
(for "New Technology"). Meanwhile, Microsoft chairman Bill
Gates has acknowledged that the 32-bit OS/2 2.0 may not be
ready until next summer. Mr. Gates says, the long awaited
operating system will ship "certainly in the next six to 12
months. It's possible we won't make the (1990) target
date." - InfoWorld 2 and 16 July
Nine Times the Desktop.
Inner Media is planning to ship an OS/2 Presentation Manager
desktop expansion utility this month named "WideAngle."
WideAngle allows user to scroll horizontally across up to
nine replications of the standard Windows 3.0 display.
WideAngle requires only 60K of RAM and will be priced at
$129. - PC Week 9 July
Much Faster Laser Printers.
Adobe Systems head, John Warnock, says that within one year
his firm will ship a new printer controller based on the
MIPS R3000 RISC chip. The new controller and new version of
PostScript will run three to seven times as fast as current
Motorola 68020 models yet cost about the same.
- MacWorld July
HP IIP meets HP III.
Hewlett-Packard plans to announce the LaserJet IIID this
month. The new eight page per minute printer combines the
dual-sided printing capability of the model IID with the
graphics quality of the LaserJet III. The new printer will
retail for a few hundred dollars less than the $3,595 price
of the current LaserJet IID. Next spring, there also will
be a four page per minute meld of the LaserJets IIP and III
(the LaserJet IIIP, naturally).
- InfoWorld 18 June and PC Week 25 June
More Powerful RS/6000s.
Industry research analyst Brian Jeffrey of International
Technology Group predicts that IBM will effectively double
the performance of its RISC workstation line next year. A
family of more powerful systems as well as advanced low-cost
models are planned to debut next Spring. The new models
will drop the chip count from nine to five and the price to
as low as $4,000 for a 20 MIP diskless workstation.
- PC Week 25 June
Higher PS/2 Display Resolution.
Future PS/2's will support a new 1,024 by 768 display
standard called XGA which should be as commonplace in two
years as VGA is today. - PC Week 9 July
Unspun.
Apple has announced that it's Claris software subsidiary
will not be spun off as a separate company after all. The
change means that Claris will not develop for Windows 3.0
and Presentation Manager as aggressively as it might have
done. Claris will develop software for Windows and other
platforms only insofar as it helps link Macintoshes to other
environments. - PC Week 2 July and InfoWorld 2 and 9 July
Quicktime.
Apple is formalizing a cross-platform set of multimedia
standards called Quicktime and has announced plans to
incorporate better sound features, real-time image data
compression and television playable output into future
modular Macintoshes. According to Apple vice president Don
Casey, the planned technology will reduce the memory size
required for an image by up to 90 percent. Apple also plans
to selectively license the technology for inclusion in
future operating systems. - InfoWorld 25 June
Legal Clones of Mac ROM Chips.
Asian developers have finally succeeded in reverse
engineering legitimate clones for Macintosh ROMs. Rumor has
it that Apple may participate in a licensing agreement to
mass market Mac Plus level computers of Far Eastern
manufacture. - PC Week 9 July
Better Amiga to Macintosh Compatibility.
ReadySoft has announced A-MAX II and A-MAX II Plus for the
Amiga. The A-MAX II is a software update of the existing
A-MAX. The new software supports MAC digitized sound, MAC
formatted partitions on Amiga hard drives, and access to MAC
SCSI peripherals (scanners, hard drives, and printers)
through an Amiga SCSI port. A-MAX II Plus uses the new
software and also offers new hardware. The board contains
two MAC compatible serial ports and an AppleTalk-compatible
port. With the A-MAX II Plus, compatibility with MAC modems
and printers is improved, and the Amiga can run MIDI and
networking software permitting Amigas to join LANs along
with (or in place of) Macintoshes. Prices have not been
announced (A-MAX has a list price of $200). The A-MAX II
should be available in a few weeks, and the II Plus before
Christmas. - found in my electronic mailbox
Apple II Tidbits.
Apple has scheduled a press conference for this month,
probably to announce HyperCard IIgs which was shown, more or
less publicly, at the KansasFest developers conference.
Apple insiders have been using an HFS (Macintosh file
format) FST (File System Translator) on the IIgs for more
than a year. Now that it's starting to be shown to a few
outsiders, maybe it will included with the anticipated new
operating System 6.0. The Apple IIgs will disappear from
German price lists in September, and there's a report that
European sales personnel were unofficially referring to the
Macintosh IIgs even before John Sculley's address at April's
AppleVision. - found in my electronic mailbox
Secretive Spinoff.
Former Apple superstar programmers Bill Atkinson, Andy
Hertzfeld, and Marc Porat aren't saying what their new
spinoff firm, General Magic Inc., plans to make except that
it will bear the trademark "Personal Intelligent
Communicator." Apple, is General Magic's largest
shareholder, and retains a license to make and market the
resulting technologies. Apple spun off General Magic
because whatever the Personal Intelligent Communicator is,
it doesn't fit Apple's mainstream business.
- Wall Street Journal 12 July and InfoWorld 16 July
Luggable CRT Quality Color.
Dolch Computer Systems has announced 20 pound 80386 and i486
computers with 10-inch active matrix color displays. Due
for delivery this fall, the 25 MHz 80386 model will retail
for $7,995 and the 25 MHz i486 model will be $12,995. The
active matrix color display alone has a price tag of
$3,995. - PC Week 18 June
Batteries Not Included.
Airis Computer's $1,899 Model VH-286 6.5 pound laptop which
will begin shipping in September is most noticeable for its
ability to run more than 12 hours on 10 standard alkaline
C-cells as well as six to eight hours off a rechargeable
Nicad battery pack. The VH-286 price includes 2 Mbytes of
RAM, a 20 Mbyte hard drive with 256K hardware disk cache, a
2,400 baud internal modem, and 11 inch diagonal VGA
display. Traveling Software's Laplink is bundled with the
VH-286, and a 1.44 Mbyte 3.5 inch floppy is available only
as an optional external unit. Later this fall, AST will
offer a seven pound 386SX laptop in a 9 by 12 inch form
factor that also runs on alkaline batteries. The AST
machine will incorporate a 1.44 Mbyte floppy, a 40 Mbyte
hard drive, 2 Mbytes of RAM and a VGA display along with an
attachable trackball pointing device.
- PC Week 25 June and InfoWorld 2 July
Shirtpocket Computer.
Intel is designing an 80386-based hand held computer that
measures only 2 by 3 by 1 inch. The pocket computer
scheduled for release next year will support VGA.
- PC Week 9 July
Handwriting on the Computer.
IBM researchers have developed handwriting recognition
techniques that recognize discretely written characters
which are touching or even overlapping. The technique does
not yet recognize cursive script. Grid and Sony already
have machines with handwritten input, and Go and Aegis plan
to introduce models this fall. Rumor has it that, this
fall, Apple will offer a stylus input option as well. The
handwriting recognition software will be shipped by
Communication Intelligence Corporation. Perhaps Apple's
handwriting reader will be bundled with the new Mac laptop
being made by Toshiba? - InfoWorld 25 June and 2 July
Character Recognition Utility.
Ocron has begun marketing its optical character recognition
(OCR) engine to both software and hardware vendors as a
kernel that could be built into other systems. An OCR
utility within a word processing program could allow it to
translate a scanned or FAX image into a file that could be
edited. Perhaps Apple will adopt the Ocron kernel --
Apple's own flatbed scanner was spotted recently attached to
a IIgs (resolution up to 300 dots per inch), but the IIgs
software used with it is described as very buggy. Maybe
InWord, primarily designed for hand-held scanners (see
below), would work better?
- InfoWorld 2 July and a whisper to my electronic mailbox
Character Recongition Software for Apple II's.
This September, WestCode Software of San Diego will ship
InWords, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software for
the Apple IIe and Apple IIgs. The software developed by
Alan Bird of Better Bye and Timeout fame is designed
primarily for use with hand-held scanners. A price has not
been announced, but a company source indicated a figure in
the vicinity of $120 is probable.
- posted to America OnLine 11 July
Many Mbytes in a Small Package.
Quantum Corporation has announced 330 Mbyte and 425 Mbyte
hard drives built into a 3.5 inch disk drive form factor.
The SCSI versions of the Prodrive 330 ($1,350) and Prodrive
425 ($1,595) will be sampled in August with volume
production scheduled for November. Evaluation units of
AT-bus versions will become available in the fourth
quarter. - InfoWorld 2 July
Fast Magneto-Optical Drive.
Early next year, Ocean Microsystems expects to ship an
optical-magneto cartridge drive which claims access speeds
comparable to those of most IBM PS/2 hard drives. The Vista
130 will store 128 Mbytes per cartridge and has an average
access time of 28 milliseconds and a data transfer rate of
512K per second. The drive will be priced at about $3,000
and cartridges will retail for between $120 and $130 each.
- InfoWorld 16 June
Massive Storage.
The current Compaq Systempro supports up to eight internal
and 16 external synchronized 210 Mbyte drives for a total
capacity of 4.28 gigabytes. Now, Compaq senior vice
president Gary Stimac says the company will extend its
storage architecture to support a nearly tenfold increase in
capacity. Expect the Systempro to support up to 40
gigabytes of storage by the end of this year, or early next
year. - InfoWorld 9 July
What Happened to Norton Utilities 5.0
When Symantec acquired Norton earlier this year, the new
owners decided they didn't like the proposed packaging for
the next release of Norton Utilities. Version 5.0's
appearance has been briefly delayed while the box is being
made prettier. Norton for the Mac may not appear at all.
Apparently, Symantec plans to merge the best features of
Norton's features into a new release of their SUM Macintosh
utilities. - InfoWorld 2 July
Integrated Desk Set.
Zedcor is planning to release a $399.95 (specially reduced
>From $400) set of seven integrated programs for the
Macintosh tentatively called "Desk." The package includes
Zedcor's 32-bit color paint and draw programs as well as
word processing, spreadsheet, charting, communications,
database, and calendaring functions. - MacWorld July
Ventura for Windows and OS/2.
A Windows 3.0 version of Ventura Publisher was shown at
June's PC Expo. The program has been rewritten to be a true
Windows product and is expected to ship early in the third
quarter. An OS/2 version will ship later in the third
quarter. - InfoWorld 25 June
Adobe Type Manager for Windows.
Adobe intends to ship their $99 rasterizing utility, Adobe
Type Manger, for Windows in September. - InfoWorld 25 June
PM SAS.
An OS/2 Presentation Manager version of SAS multivariate
statistical applications has been sent to beta testers at
over 200 sites. Users of the OS/2 product will be able to
take advantage of OS/2's multitasking, dynamic data
exchange, and graphic user interface. The OS/2 Extended
Edition Database Manager also is supported in the program
which is due for a fall debut. - InfoWorld 25 June
R:base Update in the Works.
Microrim has sent it's recently released R:base 3.0 back to
the lab to improve its speed and reduce its RAM demand.
Version 3.1 should be ready by late summer. According to
product manager Scott Fallon, version 3.1 will reduce RAM
demand from 520K bytes to fewer than 480K and also have
faster performance and an improved user interface. The new
version will retail for $795; upgrades will be free to
current users of version 3.0.
- PC Week and InfoWorld 25 June
Not Bug Free.
dBase IV version 1.1 (the "bug fix") has bugs of its own.
Look for yet another version by the Ashton-Tate developers'
conference in September. - InfoWorld 25 June
/s Murph <Sewall%UConnVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.Edu> [Internet]
or ...{psuvax1 or mcvax}!uconnvm.bitnet!sewall [UUCP]
+ Standard disclaimer applies ("The opinions expressed are my own" etc.)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 90 16:58:22 PDT
From: Scott Herzinger <scotth@rocco.labs.tek.com>
Subject: PC Screen Dumps on the Macintosh
My wife is a technical writer, and she faced the same problem not too
long ago. She tried several things, but as I recalled the one that
worked the best was a product called MacChuck which provides a PC
console interface within a Mac window.
You plug a cable between your Mac serial or printer port and PC COM1
or COM2. I can't remember all the details but I think there's something
that you run at boot time on the PC, or maybe later, a la CTTY. Then
you run MacChuck on the Macintosh. The PC ends up thinking that the
Mac window is its console.
Unlike a PC emulator, the PC software is indeed running on the PC.
Just the screen is on the Mac. One gotcha is that it only works for
character-based stuff, but MacChuck does have fonts containing all
the PC extended characters.
So, you can do a couple of things: just steal the fonts from Mac-
Chuck and diddle with your screen dumps in your text processing
system. Or you can use MacChuck and use Mac screen dumps instead of
PC screen dumps.
Good luck,
Scott Herzinger scotth%crl.labs.tek.com@relay.cs.net
Computer Research Lab, Tektronix, Inc.
PO Box 500 MS 50-662, Beaverton, OR 97077
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 90 21:19:16 EDT
From: Sari Khoury <3XMQGAA%CMUVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Question on Virtual Memory
I know that virtual memory is not possible without a PMMU chip but how do
programs like ImageStudio 1.5 and PageMaker 4.0 use VM on Pluses, SE? In the
PageMaker 4.0 readme file, it says that when Pagemaker runs out of memory, it
will swap memory with the disk. Why can't apple use this same technique so
Plus and SE users can use it. If I get enough responses, I'll summarize to
the net.
Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sari Khoury 3XMQGAA@CMUVM.BITNET
Art Department skhoury@postcard.engin.umich.edu
Central Michigan University bushido!khoury@umich.edu
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 90 00:28:06 EDT
From: Detlef_Sprinz@ub.cc.umich.edu
Subject: Statistics software for the Mac
To all number crunchers:
A month ago, I posted a request for some help
regarding information on statistics software for the
Mac. Many persons answered, including developers.
Below you find a summary and some directions for
further readings.
Some persons suggested good reviews to be found in:
1. MacUser, April 1990, 114-136
2. MacWeek, June 5, 1990 (vol 4, no. 21), and
3. InfoWorld, March 19, 1990 (vol. 12, issue 12).
These three reviews cover the major market segments
and are clearly written; however, I abstain from a
personal recommendation. The choice of program
depends on the type of statistics you wish to use
frequently, compatibility with the PC and the
mainframe computers, cost considerations, RAM
requirements, and the way the software shall take
advantage of the Mac interface.
In summary, however, most reviews agreed that
Systat 5.0 is a good all-rounder, and a cheaper version
(Fastat) is also available. Other software (DataDesk
and JMP) are more appropriate for exploratory data
analysis. However, there is no substitute for reading
the reviews after you have determined *your*
specific needs.
A few addresses or telephone numbers to contact
software publishers for demos follow:
1. Data Desk by Odesta Corp [ (800) 334-6041]
You may contact the developer, Paul Velleman, at
QP2@CORNELLA (from my address node, I guess it
must have arrived here via Bitnet)
2. RATS by VAR Econometrics [ (708) 864-8772]
A point of clarification with regard to Shazam 6.2. It
is much more Mac-like than the previous version,
however, it is *not* freeware. It may be given to you
at no cost (except for a bland disk) *iff*
-your university has a site license, and if they
-do not charge you for its use.
A university site license is available for $ 1,200 and a
personal copy costs $ 295. Please contact the
developer directly at
Ken_White@MTSG.UBC.CA
for details. The University of Michigan provides
Shazam 6.2 without charge to its students, staff, and
faculty. Since we sign an agreement, we are not
allowed to give it away.
Happy crunching... and do not forget about the theories
you test when you get carried away by some of the
programs.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 90 17:57:16 PDT
From: cwilson@nisc.sri.com (Chan Wilson)
Subject: tcsh on a/ux 2.0?
I've finally got this Mac fx up and running A/UX, and it looks pretty
slick; automagically uses nis, nfs, etc.
Trouble I'm having is compiling tcsh to run on it. On the final link, it
gives the following error:
undefined first referenced
symbol in file
rewinddir tw.parse.o
ld fatal: Symbol referencing errors. No output written to tcsh
Make: Update of tcsh terminated with exit code 13
Make: Target tcsh is on line 94 in /pub/tcsh/Makefile
Make: Stopped in directory /pub/tcsh.
Has anyone patched tcsh to run on a/ux 2.0?
Thanks...
- --Chan
Chan Wilson
SRI Intl. Network Information Systems Center
333 Ravenswood Ave., EK289 Internet: cwilson@nisc.sri.com
Menlo Park, CA., 94025 Phone: (415)859-5921
------------------------------
End of Info-Mac Digest
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