Info-Mac-Request@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (The Moderators) (03/08/90)
Info-Mac Digest Wed, 7 Mar 90 Volume 8 : Issue 47
Today's Topics:
Cluttered hard drive
DiskFit recommendations
FunKey 0.3
Grammatik Mac - A lesson in primal screams
How To Disable Trashing.
Looking for a video card
Mac IIxi
MacWeek
McSink 7.0
Re> Lisa questions
Resubmission of Icon Colorizer 1.3
SCSI
source code for spreadsheet, and backing up Notepad
SwitchBeep 1.4.1
TextOnlyPrint 1.25
Thanks, and another question...
TIME-OUT while PRINTING on a LaserWriter IINT
Video producer products for Mac
WindowShade/Rumors
Your Info-Mac Moderators are Bill Lipa, Lance Nakata, and Jon Pugh.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Mar 90 23:46:16 CST
From: UC445252%UMCVMB.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu
Subject: Cluttered hard drive
Very soon I will be backing up and defragmenting (yes, in that order) my hard
drive, this will improve the loading speed of all affected files... but since
my inits were added at different times my system folder (for example) takes
a long time to load in as the files are quite scattered. Is there a software
package around that will not only defragment, group files within folders near
one another (preferably in alphabetical order for optimal speed), and place my
work folders near the end (where the free space is)?
Does such an animal exist? Should I really worry? Is anyone still reading this
note?
thanx, PPNDTMAIWSFTN
gre7g
(* const PPNDTMAIWSFTN = Please post notes directly to me and I will summerize
for the net *)
(this space intentionally left blank)
------------------------------
Date: 22 FEB 90 19:36:38 CST
From: Z4648252 <Z4648252%SFAUSTIN.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: DiskFit recommendations
Many thanks to those who responded about the quality of DiskFit,
hard drive backup utility. Not one response was negative and all were
quite enthusiastic about the product.
Thanks again, I know what product to buy now.
Larry Rymal: |East Texas Atari 68NNNers| <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Feb 90 21:40:11 PDT
From: chaffee%reed.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu
Subject: FunKey 0.3
Here is FunKey version 0.3. This version is faster and more configurable
than 0.1, and fixes a fatal bug in 0.2.
FunKey is a replacement for Carlos Weber's classic Pop-Keys INIT, which
sadly has not kept pace with changing times. It allows you to select an
FKEY from a pop-up menu just as if you had pressed Command-Shift and a
number. It shows all FKEYs, whether they're on the keyboard or not, and
works with Suitcase, Font/DA Juggler, and MultiFinder.
To activate FunKey, hold down Command and Shift. The pointer will change to
a little "F". Click the mouse button, and pop! goes the menu.
FunKey is free, but please send me whatever suggestions, compliments, or
money you can spare.
Alex Chaffee
chaffee@reed.UUCP, Compuserve: 71210,1117
Box 259, Reed College, Portland OR 97202
[Archived as /info-mac/init/funkey-03.hqx; 19K]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 90 01:32:23 EST
From: Michael Kazlow <KAZLOWF%PACEVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Grammatik Mac - A lesson in primal screams
Grammatik Mac, Version 1.00 finds and suggests corrections for errors in
spelling, grammar and syntax. Grammatik currently supports the following
word processors:
MacWrite 4.5, 4.6, 5.0
MacWrite II
Microsoft Word 3.0 and 4.0
WordPerfect 1.0
WriteNow 2.0 (via RTF)
In addition, Grammatik supports Rich Text Format (RTF) and standard
text.
I decided to buy Grammatik Mac based upon the good reviews that
Grammatik IV (MS-DOS) has received and a 30-day evaluation period
money-back guarentee. Over the years Grammatik has consistently
received good reviews. However, the Mac version does not live up to its
reputation.
For most WP files Grammatik converts the file to its own formatting
scheme. There are two methods for correcting your text: an interactive
mode and a batch mode. In the interactive mode Grammatik shows you your
mistakes and gives you a chance to correct them. In batch mode
Grammatik marks your errors and places comments in the file.
Afterwards, you can make corrections while running your word proccessing
software. The documentation warns that the file's formatting may be lost
and reccommends that you work on a copy of the file. However, Grammatik
will make a backup copy of your original file. For files with heavy
formatting the documentation reccommends you convert the file to a RTF
file. This preserves most of your formatting and allows for quicker
review of the file.
I used Grammatik on a one page Word 4.0 file. After correcting the
document in the interactive mode, I ran the program again on the revised
document. The program crashed. This was a repeatable phenomenon. To
review a revised document without crashing the program, you must open
the file in Word and resave the data using the _Save As ..._ command.
I then tried to push the program to its limits. I used the program in
batch mode to critique a 53K heavily formatted technical document (a
chapter in a math text). The program took 1.5 hours to find 210 errors
and produced a file that was over 300K in size. When trying to load the
file into Word, Word would consistently crash. I coverted the
original file into a RTF file, the program found 240 errors in less than
20 minutes. The resulting file that Grammatik produced was 75K. Word
could load the new RTF file without problem, but there was serious
damage done to the file. Following most of the mathematical notation
extra characters were added to the file in a consistent fashion. No
errors where pointed out because of the mathematical formulas. This
leads me to beleive that Grammatik added these extra characters as
markers. Grammatik forgot to remove these characters after the editing
proccess.
Grammatik shows great potential, however its present form is seriously
flawed. It should still be in beta testing. The batch mode when used
with ASCII files and a program similar to Docucomp could be useful. I
have returned the program. Maybe I will try it again when version 1.23
appears.
From the computer of: Michael Kazlow (Bitnet: KAZLOWF@PACEVM)
Acknowledge-To: <KAZLOWF@PACEVM>
------------------------------
Date: 2 Mar 90 13:17 +0000
From: DURTSCHIR%AC%CSC@csc.isu.edu
Subject: How To Disable Trashing.
Hi All,
We've got some Mac's running in the bookstore showing some demo's.
They are not monitored closely and people come up and mess around
and trash things and render the poor things inoperative.
Then I come along and see a real nice IICi that doesn't work worth
a hoot. So...
What I'm looking for is a CDEV or an INIT that will disallow anyone
>From screwing around with the desk-top without permission.
I have tried Guard Dog and it works good except the version I tried
(1.0) did not have password protection.
Any ideas?
Thanks, and bye for now,
Ralph Durtschi, Electronics Dept, ISU Vo-Tech.
If there is interest, I will summarize.
(I need a golf fix)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 90 14:24 EST
From: Josh Smith <JBS92@swat.swarthmore.edu>
Subject: Looking for a video card
I'm looking for a monochrome video card that will let me drive the Apple
Portrait Display from my SE/30. Anyone know if such a beast exists, and if so,
where and how much for I can find it? Reply to me directly and I will summarize
to the net.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
| Reality: Josh Smith | Josh Smith '92 |
| Internet: JBS92@CAMPUS.SWARTHMORE.EDU | Swarthmore College |
| BITNet: JBS92@SWARTHMR.BITNET | 500 College Ave. |
| CSNet: irilyth@cs.swarthmore.edu | Swarthmore, PA 19081-1397 |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 90 13:58:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Edward Joseph Bennett <eb1z+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Mac IIxi
>Seems that the IIxi will be a high end model to be introduced in
>March 1990. The only detail disclosed is that it will house a 68040 chip.
>Now judging by press releases from Motorola, the minimum speed is 25Mhz going
>all the way to 50Mhz.
All rumors I've heard have put the IIxi with an '030 at 33MHz or 40MHz
for this spring and that an '040 machine may come this fall or next
spring. Although I hope I'm wrong and your right!!!
>Anyway, I post this to ask for feelers, since I know many people are unhappy
>about Apple and its wierd row-boat directions. Wonder why they bought a cray
>and came up with lead acid batteries!!!
>Maybe we should start defining in black and white what we users want in a Mac
>h/w and s/w from the lowest-end model to the highest-end.
>If I get enough response, I would compile a comprehensive report
>and post it to the list.
>For starters the low-end model.
>It should be cheap and directly compete with PC clones and Amigas. It must be
>fast, luggable, and have color. The minimum must be a 16Mhz 68030 chip with
>32 bit quickdraw.
The problem is their are so many uses for personal computing that there
will be no consensous on what the mac should be. We would all like an
'040 with 32 bit color, an optical drive, 24 Megs of memory, etc. for
<$1000 but this isn't realistic. I'm a Physics major and a power user
and I want all the power I can get whether I need it or not but I have a
friend who likes Macintosh and would love to have one just for word
processing and some other light tasks. For him color and an '030 would
be overkill and he would rather use the extra money to buy some
software. What he needs is a basic mac (8MHZ 68000 is fine) at a low
cost. I personally think apple is on theright track by offering a large
variety of configurations from the plus to the soon to come IIxi all
using the same interface. What apple should do is lower all prices some
and build cost effectiveness into their designs like they did with the
IIcx. However the Mac is a superior machine to the IBM clones or
anything else as far as interface goes (This includes the Next whos
interface I found tedious compared to the Mac) and while it would be
nice to have a mac priced the same as comparable clone hardware the
interface is worth the a premium and apple deserves a little bonus for
making a superior product.
I therefore think any discussion should focus on how to improve the
interface to keep it ahead of the game as the competition attempts to
copy it instead of hardware platforms. popping in new processors is no
big deal. It is the Macs interface that makes it special and what makes
a Mac plus a more powerful and valuable tool to the Computerphobiac than
multimillion dollar cray. It is not a computer's raw power that counts
but how easily that power can be exploited.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 90 09:01:55 PLT
From: Joshua Yeidel <YEIDEL%WSUVM1.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: MacWeek
The masthead for MacWeek says:
Direct subscription inquiries to Customer Service Department, Macweek,
P.O.Box 5821, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034. (609) 428-5000.
Good luck!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 12:47:58 CST
From: palkovic@linac.fnal.gov (John A. Palkovic)
Subject: McSink 7.0
This is McSink 7.0, the latest update to McSink, arguably the best
DA/text editor for the mac. I am posting this as two separate files;
the first is the DA, the second is a document (20k) and about a dozen
VCMD's. If you want to know what is different, get the second file
and extract the "McSink V7.0 Changes" file and read it. It is a text
file. A quick summary: word wrap is disabled :-( ; it is a lot
faster and you can now use VCMD's in McSink. if you want all the
features you have to get Vantage, the commercial big brother to McSink.
John Palkovic
palkovic@adcalc.fnal.gov
disclaimer: This space intentionally left blank.
[Archived as /info-mac/da/mcsink-70.hqx; 102K
/info-mac/da/mcsink-70-files.hqx; 62K]
------------------------------
Date: 1 Mar 90 18:47:31
From: Wolfgang Naegeli <Wolfgang_Naegeli.ED_TSRS@qm01.ctd.ornl.gov>
Subject: Re> Lisa questions
REGARDING Re> Lisa questions
It's not a bad idea to consider those low-price Lisa/MacXL offers!
The Lisa actually is the best-engineered computer Apple ever built.
It is very soild (and heavy), very modular for easy maintenance, has
zero-insertion-force expansion slots, etc. It even has a memory management
unit. At the time of its introduction, it was THE
state-of-the-art microcomputer.
Only when Apple releases the new Print Architecture (in 1991?)
will the Mac be able to duplicate all the features of the Lisa 7/7
environment, which actually is very similar to MultiFinder, has
virtual memory (only offered recently for the Mac by third party and
only to be available from Apple some time this Summer or Fall with
System software 7.0), and allows simultaneous spooled printing to
multiple printers.
Sure, the Lisa was too expensive. But what would have happened if
Apple had given adequate support to software developers and applied
the low-cost-engineering approach of the original Mac to build an
entry-level Lisa? In dropping the Lisa, Apple gave up a head start of
three years at the very minimum over OS/2-Presentation Manager and
its own System 8.0.
In 1984/85 I had my Lisa running UNIX System V at close to 100
percent CPU capacity for over one year. I never had any problem with
its hardware, but I have not loaded it as heavily in recent years
because I have been using other computers too.
I know of some Lisas that have been on continuously (except for
power outages) for over five years, while Macs and PCs left and
right have been dropping dead.
One of the Lisas has a little bit of screen burn-in in the menu bar
and at the Trashcan location, because it ran without screen blanker
for almost four years. Otherwise they are still doing fine and
we are seriously thinking about upgrading them.
The Lisa has a much better screen size than the Mac Plus/SE. Being able
to see the full width of an 8.5 x 11 page and still having some space
next to it for a tools pallette or icons and such under MultiFinder is a
tremendous advantage. Even with it's slower clock speed, it
outperforms the Mac Plus in a few specific areas such as when
running certain compilers.
Several enhancements are available from Sun Remarketing (800-821-3221) and
Dafax (718-746-8220).
The latest version of the Boot diskette is $15.
For $200 you get MacWorks Plus, which lets you use virtually all of the
latest Mac software and supports a SCSI board. MacWorks Plus is much
more reliable, stable, and compatible than MacWorks 3.0 ($89), which
was originally published by Apple. (The only area where there are major
problems is games that try to directly access the sound hardware).
An internal 800k floppy drive is $399 and a SCSI expansion card $195.
In my experience, Dafax provides even better support than Sun
Remarketing. Dafax also has a 16MHz accelerator board, with sockets
for 4 MB of zero wait state SIMM RAM, a fast SCSI option, and 68881
option. The accelerator is expected to ship in April, starting at $695 and
elevating the Lisa/MacXL to about twice the speed of a Mac SE.
A minimum of 512K SIMM RAM is needed. Existing slow RAM (up to
2MB can be used). Software is promised that will later allow to use the
slow RAM for disk cacheing or RAM disk so that it will not become
useless when the accelerator is fully populated.
Wolfgang N. Naegeli
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Internet: wnn@ornl.gov Bitnet: wnn@ornlstc
Phone: 615-574-6143 Fax: 615-574-3895
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 90 09:25:09 -0500
From: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock)
Subject: Resubmission of Icon Colorizer 1.3
Enclosed is a new version of Robert Munafo's Icon Colorizer.
New enhancements include:
* Coloring of icons based on color chosen in the Finder
(a really nice effect!)
* Automatic recalibration of memory when INIT loads
(necessary if you add a lot of icons)
* Option-Double-Click on the file to get a help screen.
Source code is included.
Since Robert doesn't have net access, feel free to mail
any bug reports/suggestions to me and I will forward.
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
[Archived as /info-mac/init/icon-colorizer.hqx; 140K]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 90 08:31:22 EST
From: Mark_Vivino%NIHDCRT.BITNET@cu.nih.gov
Subject: SCSI
Glenn Sowell (PHYS300@UNLCDC3.BITNET) writes in V8 Issue 38:
>I purchased a "Cutting Edge" 45 Mbyte drive a few months ago. I am
>more or less happy with it. Now here's the rub: I must turn on all of
>my SCSI devices (I own a laser printer) before the drive will
>mount/boot. I called the company (Erhman) - surely, I say, this is a
>mistake. Well, it takes a while to find someone who knows what I
>am talking about AND who has an answer for me. The answer
>surprised me: I was told that the company had followed APPLE
>guidelines in requiring all SCSI devices to online. It is a royal pain
>(to the ears especially) to always have to turn on my printer and
>leave it on for the entire session.
I have a Mass Microsystems 45 megabyte removable hard disk that will
not allow the system to boot unless it is turned on. I too considered it
a royal pain and gave mass microsystems a call. I was told that they
followed Apple guidelines for SCSI devices. I requested to speak with
the engineer about this, since most SCSI devices on the market are not
this way. I was told the following: "The SCSI chip in use on recent
Mac's (such as the II, IIx and IIc) can be damaged by reflective signals
>From an off device, we therefore designed the device with terminating
resistors."
When I asked if they use TTL logic, which presents a high impedance
when turned off, they said yes. My question is that since TTL presents a
higher impedance than terminating resistors, is somebody out there just
making a bad mistake and making a headache for all of us?
I wrote to Apple computer about the SCSI guidelines and actually heard
>From them a month later. They told me no such rule, as such, existed.
When I asked if unpowered high-impedance TTL was sufficient termination,
I got very little of an answer and was refered off to my local Apple
represenative. If Apple has an anser, I did not get it from them. I am
not sure if Mass-microsystems or Ehman has a valid reason for designing
SCSI devices this way.
Mark Vivino
VIVINO@NIHDCRT.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 90 21:36:08 PST
From: John_Klippenstein@mtsg.ubc.ca
Subject: source code for spreadsheet, and backing up Notepad
Does anyone know how I can get some source code for a spreadsheet.
Also I've been very pleased with NotePad II (even registered!) but now
I'm worried about losing the info I've stored in it. How do I back it up.
i.e. where does it store it's data. Thanks in advance
John Klippenstein
internet John_Klippenstein@mtsg.ubc.ca
bitnet userklip@ubcmtsg
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 16:42:31 PST
From: PUGH@ccc.nmfecc.gov
Subject: SwitchBeep 1.4.1
Here is the SwitchBeep 1.4.1 the snd beep randomizer.
Changes include a cdev control so that you can choose which beeps to
use. This allows you to selectively exclude certain sounds from
being randomized as beeps. You can also use this to randomize your
beep on demand and to select any specific snd as your beep. See the
included documentation for excessive details.
Jon
N L pugh@ccc.nmfecc.gov
M A L National Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center
F T N Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
E L PO Box 5509 L-561
C Livermore, California 94550
C (415) 423-4239
[Archived as /info-mac/sound/programs/switchbeep-141.hqx; 41K]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 90 09:27:52 -0500
From: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock)
Subject: TextOnlyPrint 1.25
Enclosed is a new utility by Robert Munafo for printing text files.
Features include:
* Single/multiple columns with/without column dividers
* Table of Contents
* Indexing
* Wrap-handling for long lines
* and more
TextOnlyPrint is especially useful to programmers who have a lot
of source code to print or need to look up a specific routine.
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
[Archived as /info-mac/app/text-only-print.hqx; 40K]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 90 09:30:07 LCL
From: Gene Smith <ESMITH@suvm.bitnet>
Subject: Thanks, and another question...
I want to thank everyone who responded to my question concerning
sharing files between the Mac and and IBM (or compatible) PC. I received
literally dozens of responses which fell into 3 basic categories:
1. Dos-Mounter - Which allows the Mac to recognize PC format disks
as they are inserted into the machine.
2. Mac-Link - Allows PC files to be recognized if the software is
running, otherwise you still receive 'uninitialized
diskette' message.
3. TOPS - Allows connection of a Mac and PC so that sharing of
hard disks is possible. This is the solution I was
really looking for.
Again thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. Now another question.
I am working on a project for our library which requires the printing of
barcode labels. You know those funny little labels the grocery stores use
to scan with? Is there any software available that would allow the Mac
to print these on a laserwriter in various formats? (if not, seems like
a good area for Mac programmers to look into)
Again, I will summarize to this list.
As Always,
Gene Smith (ESMITH@SUVM)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 90 09:56:38 EST
From: "Jim Henry in Chattanooga (615) 755-4398 or 886-6425"
Subject: TIME-OUT while PRINTING on a LaserWriter IINT
Greetings from Chattanooga
We just got a new LW IINT on our LocalTalk network and it has a
"Time Out" message that it sends back to my Print Monitor when
a print job takes longer than 1 minute (approximately).
One minute is about 24 pages, so what this means is that it will not
print conrtinuously a document longer thatn 24 pages. WHAT A PAIN!
I looked thru the manual and there is no mention of "time Out." Do any
of you have a suggestions on how to change the time limit
or cancel the time limit?
Thanks
Jim Henry
* JHENRY at UTCVM (BITNET) * School of Engineering *
* (615) 755-4398 (office) * UTC (Univ. of Tenn. at Chatt.) *
* (615) 886-4398 (home) * Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403 *
* (615) 755-4025 (FAX) * U.S.A. *
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 90 10:32:32 EST
From: gary@ctc.contel.com (Gary Bisaga x4219)
Subject: Video producer products for Mac
Hello. I am looking for hardware and programs and that would allow a Mac to be
used as a video producer's workstation. For example, using a Genlock board bring
in a video stream and overlay information such as a clock and titles over it; not
all of these would be "scriptable", such as you could do with MacroMind director
(e.g., the stopwatch/clock).
Such a workstation would also include software, maybe development libraries, XCMD's
or something, to allow program interface and control over tape decks, time code
recorder/readers, and so forth. Any information about any of these types of
products would be most appreciated. I will summarize responses if there is any
interest.
As I don't get this list, please respond to me directly at the email address below.
(An hour a day to read xpert is too much time as it is ...)
Sincerely,
Gary Bisaga (gary@ctc.contel.com)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 90 22:10:03 EST
From: <SMT@cornellc.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: WindowShade/Rumors
Fellow MacPeople:
I have two questions to ask:
1. I work at the Office of Management and Budget, currently we are
in the process of purchasing 15 SE/30's to connect to our
existing AppleTalk network of 20 Macintosh II & IIcx's.
They are also connected to EtherNet via a Novell fileserver. This
project is quite pricey, so the director of department is quite
interested in saving any money possible. The question extends
from the fact that he remebers reading a recent article concerning
an Apple product (a new Mac) that is as quick as an SE/30 but much
cheaper. He cannot recall where he read the article and is
wondering if we should wait to purchase. Anyone hearing a similar
story??? Please let me know!
2. Recently we downloaded WindowShade from the archives. It is
currently under test on an SE/30. It appeared to be working fine,
but recently it has been giving strange results. Double-clicking
on the window to restore it has been giving only parts of the
original window, a sort of ghost effect is being observed.
Anyone know what the problem is????
Send any replies directly to me at:
yi858c@gwuvm
sc159213@sparko.gwu.edu (I log in here more!!)
If there is interest, I will summarize for the net.
------------------------------
End of Info-Mac Digest
******************************