Info-Mac-Request@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (The Moderators) (02/16/90)
Info-Mac Digest Thu, 15 Feb 90 Volume 8 : Issue 31
Today's Topics:
Accelerator Cards
Accountability Software
Announcing the Netter's Dinner @ MacWorld
Bulk SIMM Purchase
Cellular Automata?
Downloading files from Macserve
GIF to PostScript
HLocking SELF in Object Pascal
Info-Mac Digest V8 #23
LaserWriter Version 6.0
Macs vs. PCs for writing
Minix for the Mac
Novice Mac User-
Printing on VAXen [Info-Mac Digest V8 #27 ]
RAM for LaserWriters
Replacing default System Font - How?
Sound Manager
System 6.0.n
text files and formatting
toolbox programming
Writing on Macs vs PCs
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. Indicies 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.
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 07:35 CDT
From: HANKBART@ducvax.auburn.edu
Subject: Accelerator Cards
I am interested in buying an accelerator card for my Mac SE with 4 meg of RAM.
I am considering eitehr SuperMac's Speed Card, SiClone's Turbo SE (which are
both low cost) or Radius's Accelerator 16 SE, which is a little more. I want
the 68881 FPU as part of the unit.
I would appreciate any info anyone has on these cards or others, including the
street price, etc. Reply to me and I will summarize for the net.
Mike Taylor
|**************************************||***************************|
|BitNet: HANKBART@AUDUCVAX || (T)he (A)pple (G)roup BBS |
|InterNet: HANKBART@ducvax.auburn.edu || Serving Central Alabama |
|America Online: MikeTaylor || 205-745-0715 2400 bps |
|GEnie: M.Taylor17 || Auburn, AL 24 hrs/day |
|**************************************||***************************|
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 12:52:11 PST
From: C43HWV%ENG1.gm@hac2arpa.hac.com
Subject: Accountability Software
We are setting up a common computer area with about 10 MACs of different
flavors. They will all be connected via AppleTalk to a common LaserWriter.
We would like to track use of these system and collect the following
information:
1) Who is using the computer, preferably via a login sequence.
2) The length of time for each logon session.
3) Number of copies printed on the LaserWriter during the logon session.
Is there any software (INIT, CDEV etc) which will meet one or more of the
above requirements? We would prefer to use free/shareware, but would use
a commercial product.
Herman VandenBoom (c43hwv%eng1.gm@hac2arpa.hac.com)
Delco Electronics
Santa Barbara, CA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 16:26:47 PST
From: PUGH@ccc.nmfecc.gov
Subject: Announcing the Netter's Dinner @ MacWorld
Well, it's that time again.
MacWorld flyers just got here announcing the event as April 11-13. This is
Wednesday through Friday which means that there is no weekend days for the
folks who can't take time off work.
It also means that the Netter's Dinner will have to be on one of those days.
Since my fellow moderator Bill Lipa managed to get lost on the Bay Bridge last
year instead of coming to dinner ;^), I guess the job has fallen on me to
organize it again this year. My feeling is that Friday will be the day (since
most of us don't have to tear down anything) although I am certainly open
about that. As usual, the dinner will be at the most wonderful Hunan place in
San Francisco, which is within walking distance of the Moscone Center
(Broadway and Samsome to be exact).
Email me your body counts and day preference and I will put together a
reservation for a crowd. Don't be shy. Last year we had 60+ people and it
was an incredible dinner. Mind you, a liking for hot spicy Chinese food is a
must!
Please pass this message around so that all the networks see it. We want our
friends from all the networks to participate. It is always fun to see faces
at this thing.
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
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 90 22:32:05 EST
From: DOUG JOHNSON - GEOGRAPHY <djohnson@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: Bulk SIMM Purchase
Dear Fellow MacUsers:
I have a question regarding bulk SIMM chip purchases. My
office mates and I are looking for ~35-80 Mb, depending on
the best price we can get. We are currently getting screwed
around by our local dealer and we were wondering if it was
possible to buy such a volume directly from a distributor
instead of a dealer. We though that with such a volume we
might be able to swing a discount. Can anyone provide
insight into this issue? It would be most appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Doug Johnson
Department of Geography
University of Waterloo
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1990 10:15:27 EST
From: RICH@suhep.phy.syr.edu (Richard S. Holmes)
Subject: Cellular Automata?
hbates@towsonvx writes:
>In the January 1990 issue of Scientific American I read an article on cellular
>automata. I was quite intrigued by Brian Silverman's Phantom Fish Tank
>and its Wire World. I wonder if anyone knows if such a program is available
>for the Mac. Also, I wonder if anyone can suggest references to similar
>articles or perhaps a discussion list that would be likely to include cellular
>automata as a topic.
I would be interested in hearing what responses you get. Rudy Rucker's
cellular automaton program (mentioned in that article) sounds like what I've
wanted for some time -- except that it's for an IBM, not a Mac. I'd love to
see a port.
I presume you know of LAZlife. A better program, I think, is LifeLab which is,
oddly enough, distributed as a "free toaster" with OzTeX. (I see no reason why
someone couldn't post it to Info-Mac. Someone like me, in my copious free
time). It's basically a Conway's Life program, but it does allow you to vary
the transition rules somewhat. Has some other nice features if you're into
Life.
I just finished going through "Just Enough Pascal" (a program to show how to
build a Mac application in LS Pascal) and the application built is a simple
cellular automaton of sorts.
Some references: Martin Gardner's "Mathematical Games" articles on Life and
CA's in the early 70's; his book, "Wheels, Life, and Other Amusements"; volume
2 of "Winning Ways" by Conway, Guy, and (mumble); Von Neumann's "Theory of
Self-Reproducing Automata" (1966); E. F. Codd, "Cellular Automata", Arthur W.
Burks (ed.), "Essays on Cellular Automata" (1970); practically anything in the
past five years by Steven Wolfram (I could dig up specific references, or you
could just look under Wolfram in Physics Abstracts; he's mostly concerned with
1-dimensional automata as a model for natural processes).
Rich Holmes
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Richard S. Holmes Phone: (315)443-3891 or
Physics Department -2701
Syracuse University Bitnet: rich@suhep
Syracuse, NY 13244 Internet: rich@suhep.phy.syr.edu
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DISCLAIMER: I have no opinions.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 12:46:59 EST
From: Lee Brannon <CCREBEL%INDST.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
Subject: Downloading files from Macserve
O.K. I give up...
I have been (in the past) very successful at retrieving and downloading files
>From MACSERVE at RICE. Keywords (have been). Recently though, the files are
downloading, but thats where it stops. The files are marked as .hqx so in my
usual habit I run BinHex against them. Lately though, I am getting EOF errors
as the file is being converted. I have tied BinHex 3.0 through 5.0, UNPIT and P
ACKIT and STUFFIT 1.5.1. All give me errors. This has happened with the last
four or five download attempts. The latest being the Genealogical Stack.
Either the files in the Archieve are bad, or there is something I don't
know about. If anyone can help me please write to CCREBEL AT INDST.
P.S. (It wouldn't hurt for some knowledgable person to explain
the process of archieving in a non-technical manner
in INFO-MAC. And it would help a great deal if a standard
of one version of one program were established for posting.)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 07:14:05 PST
From: brown#tom%mfe.mfenet@ccc.nmfecc.gov
Subject: GIF to PostScript
Hello again. Just a simple question this time.
Does anyone know of a GIF to PostScript convertor for the Mac, similar to
GIF2PS for the *YEESCH!* DOSworld ?
Kevin Mitchell's GIF Convertor is a fine piece of work, but I'd like to
print something finer than screen bitmaps. (Yes, I know...enlarge it 4x and
print at 25%. I'd like something a little more elegant.)
That's it for now.
If anyone's intrested AND I get any replies, I'll summarise for the net.
Once again, MAIL BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO...
Jim Mueller
alias:
JMUELLER@PPC.MFEnet via MFEnet
JMUELLER%PPC.MFENnet@NMFECC.LLNL.GOV via Internet
JMUELLER%PPC.MFENnet@LBL.Bitnet via Bitnet
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>From Princeton Plasma Physics Lab...where fusion is a way of life.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"That's right,buddy...the large print giveth, an' the small print
taketh away..." from 'Step Right Up' by Tom Waits
Just a thought for approaching tax time.
------------------------------
Date: 13 Feb 90 16:50:00 MST
From: "5268 Spires, Shannon V." <svspire@sandia.gov>
Subject: HLocking SELF in Object Pascal
Does anyone know if it's necessary to HLock(Self) at the beginning
of a method definition in Think Object Pascal? MPW Pascal doesn't seem
to require it, since I can't find it being done in the MacApp source, but
I've seen listings written in old TML Object Pascal that did it. What's
the scoop?
[Moderator's Note: You shouldn't have to. It sounds like sloppy programming
and/or some deferencing is going on. -- Jon]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 90 16:45 PST
From: SAM@pomona.claremont.edu
Subject: Info-Mac Digest V8 #23
I have come across a rather unusual problem on two separate ImageWriters. One
belongs to a professor and one is in an academic computing lab. The problem
is that the ImageWriter randomly changes its margins. It will be printing
along nicely and then all of a sudden -- WHAM! It will slap its print head
against the left side of the printer. It will do this when printing a document
or even when printing a test sheet. After it slams itself against the side,
the error light flashes. If you hit select on and off, you can normally
continue for a random amount of lines. The most peculiar part of this is that
it seems to be totally random and I can't narrow down a cause. If any of
you have had this problem and/or can suggest a possible solution, please
reply to me directly and I will post a summary of the responses.
Thank you.
Sam Cropsey
Microsystems Manager, Pomona College
INTERNET: SAM@POMONA.CLAREMONT.EDU
BITNET: SAM@POMONA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 10:15:40 PST
From: Mike_Dustan@cc.sfu.ca
Subject: LaserWriter Version 6.0
We've recently tried to upgrade our departmental network to
LaserWriter and Laser Prep Version 6.0 (up from 5.2). Version 6
fixes some bugs in 5.2 (for example, the incorrect positioning of
imbedded PostScript on the first page of a Microsoft Word
document when you're using background printing). This helps those
of us who need to do such things. We don't need the colour
capabilities of LW 6.0.
We've had problems, however, with colour-capable Macs. Seems that
unless you click the "Black/White" button in the Print dialog
box, all you get when printing from a Mac II is white pages.
Printing from SEs and Pluses works just fine. Our network has
Pluses, SE's, IIx's and a IIci. We're printing to a prehistoric
LaserWriter (not Plus, not upgraded, just LaserWriter).
Anyone out there using LW 6.0 on a regular, successful basis in a
similar configuration? Any advice? hints? condolences? Can we
tweak the LaserWriter driver so it defaults to Black/White
instead of Colo(u)r/GrayScale?
[Moderator's Note: I use LW 6.0 all the time on my Mac II. No worries.
I never check the b&w box. I've printed all kinds of stuff. Make sure
you update PrintMonitor to version 1.3 also! -- Jon]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 11:55:24 EST
From: gateh%conncoll.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu
Subject: Macs vs. PCs for writing
In defense of Marcia People Halio and her recent article in
_Academic Computing_ concerning descrepancies in writing between students
using different machines (Macs and PCs):
a. her's was not a formal study, but rather an article based on relatively
careful yet *informal* research and investigation of the experiences of a
number of professors, herself included, at the University of Delaware.
b. the article is not an _indictment_ of the Mac, of graphically-based user
interfaces, or much of anything else. Rather, it is a fairly open-ended
and open-minded attempt to describe some perceived discrepancies, and to
try to find some possible explanations with what information was available.
More than anything else, her article posed a number of questions, namely:
1. is there really a difference, or was our experience unique?
She believes it is not a unique phenomenon.
2. if there is a difference, what is the cause?
She does propose a number of possible causes, then asks:
3. if these are the causes, what are the remedies?
She *briefly* offers some possible solutions.
Her ponderings are aimed more at the technology as a whole, not at Macs, and
she finds the above questions important ones because it would appear that
the technology is moving towards graphically-based user interfaces, the PC
world included. She says that currently she is "in the midst of conducting
a more controlled experiment", but also notes that "other researchers may
want to pursue lines of inquiry, too, especially since so many questions
remain unanswered."
It seemed to me that the she has legitimate cause for investiation, has
thought through the problem quite carefully, has remained open-minded, and
has written a useful and thought-provoking article on the subject. So please,
before you bring your keyboard down over the top of her head, read the
article and think about what she has to say, lest we reveal oursevles as the
sloppy and careless writers and thinkers which she worries are the product
of the new technologies.
Gregg TeHennepe | Minicomputer Specialist
gateh@conncoll.bitnet | Connecticut College, New London, CT
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 90 20:05 N
From: <JRAMON@EMDUAM51>
Subject: Minix for the Mac
Hi there,
I would like to know if there is any port of MINIX for the Mac.
I am not an ususal reader of this list, so please, mail you answers
directly to me.
J. R. Valverde JRAMON@EMDUAM51
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 90 18:12:34 PST
From: hplabs!miriama%pro-simasd.cts.com@labrea.stanford.edu (Miriam Austerman)
Subject: Novice Mac User-
Concerned about virus. How does one avoid such a calamity? I bought my Mac
used and sure enough there was a virus crawling around. Got it out with a
virus software package, but how does one avoid this in the future?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 14:56:21 PST
From: kent@wsl.dec.com
Subject: Printing on VAXen [Info-Mac Digest V8 #27 ]
The generic VAX<->MAC product is called AlisaTalk (tm), and includes a whole
set of components. You need to order the optional Alisa Digital Print
System as well.
Alisa is at:
221 East Walnut St., Suite 175
Pasadena, CA 91101
(818) 792-9474
chris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 11:24:00 EST
From: "Hugh A. Huntzinger" (CCL-S) <huntzing@pica.army.mil>
Subject: RAM for LaserWriters
Those nice 1M SIMM modules that have been dropping in price have raised
the following question - Is there or what is the difference between a
SIMM for a Mac and a SIMM for a LaserWriter? For that matter, can old
128K SIMMs from the Mac be transplanted into, say, a LaserWriter II?
-hummer
[Moderator's Note: Nice try, but Laserwriter SIMMs are a different size.
Don't ask why, they just are. Probably a marketing idea. -- Jon]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 11:02:03 -0600
From: "Eric W. Blankenburg" <windsor@symcom.math.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Replacing default System Font - How?
I would like to change the default System font. Can anyone tell me how
this can be accomplished? Thanks in advance.
Eric
------------------------------
Date: 13 Feb 90 11:2:9
From: Peter Saeta <Peter_Saeta.POST_OFFICE%lucifer@harvard.harvard.edu>
Subject: Sound Manager
REGARDING Sound Manager
I have been having enormous difficulty with the Sound Manager and wonder if
anyone has some tips and/or source code in either Pascal or C describing how to
use the Sound Manger in asynchronous mode to produce recorded sounds. Attempts
to open a channel, install a 'snd ' 2 resource, and plays some notes result in
a -201: notEnoughHardware error.
I also need to use the WaveTableSynth to produce two simultaneous tones of
various waveforms and different frequencies and intensities. Calls to
SndDoCommand with various combinations of waveTableCmd, noteCmd, ampCmd,
phaseCmd, freqCmd, etc., never produce an error result code, but often donUt
work. In particular, specifying the frequency in the low three bytes of
param2, instead of a note value in the lowest byte, never works. Frustration
has indeed set in. I would greatly appreciate any information or sources.
Thanks.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 08:59:06 EST
From: Bull Durham <WCD@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu>
Subject: System 6.0.n
Dear MacPundits,
I though I understood (at a user level) the differences between Systems
6.0.n, n = 1...4. So when the new IIx arrived at my office I was
surprised to see 6.0.4 installed on the hard disk, while the Apple
System Floppies that were shipped with it were 6.0.3. Didn't I read here
that 6.0.4 was for portables or something? I wonder why Apple provided me
with both ... am I supposed to decide which to use?
Could somebody who knows tell me just which system goes with which
computer, or is the biggest numbered System automatically the best?
I've tried various systems on my Plus, and finally settled on 6.0.2
because it has the fewest incompatibility problems. Is that the right
one? Do IBM PC users have similar problems between various versions of
MS-DOS and different models of the PC?
Thanks,
Bull (No Bull)
[Moderator's Note: The highest number is the best. They always contain more
bug fixes than they let on about. 6.0.4 has floppy fixes for all machines
in addition to portible and ci fixes. -- Jon]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 18:11:26 +0100
From: Pottie Karl <GHGAQBA%BLEKUL11.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: text files and formatting
Is there a way to convert a Ms Word , Macwrite or Wordperfect file
to an text file while keeping the formatting correct ? By this, I
mean : indentations are kept by inserting spaces
(forced) page breaks are kept by inserting empty lines
....
(If I save a file as a text file, all layout is lost. The best I can do is
inserting a line feed after each line, but that's not enough)
Thanx Karl Pottie
GHGAQBA@BLEKUL11
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 13:31:52 EST
From: bkirsch@nadc.arpa (B. Kirsch)
Subject: toolbox programming
(Sorry that I can't respond directly)
AKAPILAN,
/*Example for defining and using regions in Think C*/
/* This is an excerpt from one of my programs. It is meant as a sketch to get
you started. Let me know if you have any questions. By the way, I wrote
a utility to let you define regions (rects and regions made of lines) with the
click or drag of your (it actually writes the code to a file so you don't
have to figure out the coordinates). It is tailored to my own application,
but if you want, I will send it to you, but you will need to make a
few changes and additions. Information on Regions and all other toolbox
routines are in Inside Macintosh (though it is in Pascal and needs to be
translated to C)(I broke down and bought some of the volumes.) You
probably only need volume I to start out with. */
#define MAX_RGNS 2
RgnHandle MyRgn[50];
main()
{
Point pt;
Define_MyRgn();
/*your event loop*/
GetMouse(&pt);
Check_MyRgn(pt);
/*End of loop*/
}
Define_MyRgn()
{
Rect DragRect;
MyRgn[0] = NewRgn();
OpenRgn();
SetRect(&DragRect,16,76,77,103);
FrameRect(&DragRect);
CloseRgn(MyRgn[0]);
MyRgn[1] = NewRgn();
OpenRgn();
MoveTo(262,65);
LineTo(314,93);
LineTo(262,120);
LineTo(262,65);
CloseRgn(MyRgn[1]);
}
Check_MyRgn(pt)
Point pt;
{
int n;
DialogPtr theDialog;
int RegionHit;
for(n=0;n<MAX_RGNS;n++){
if(PtInRgn(pt,MyRgn[n])){
RegionHit=n;
switch(n){
case 0:
theDialog=MakeADlg();
break;
case 1:
theDialog=MakeAnotherDlg();
break;
default:
break;
}
}
}
}
/*Hope this helps*/
/*
Barry Kirsch
MAIL: Naval Air Development Center
Code 5051
Warminster PA, 18974-5000
PHONE: (215) 441-1886
ARPA: bkirsch@nadc.arpa
*/
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 90 14:14:01 EST
From: perley@sparky.crd.ge.com (Donald P Perley)
Subject: Writing on Macs vs PCs
forsythe.stanford.edu writes:
>According to Graeme's synopsis of Halio's article, Mac's cause poor writing as
>verified by a test with no control whatsoever. Even with my single course in
>statistics I can sense this travesty of justice! It may be fair to say that
>writers with lesser skill may be attracted the ease of the Macintosh.
But according to the description, she tought the course using IBM PCs only
for "some" semesters before getting the Macs. That should serve as
some sort of control. Remember that she didn't start out to do a controlled
study. The objective was teaching the course, and this correlation just
popped up.
What I find curious is the phrase:
"...never before in twelve years of teaching had I seen such a sloppy bunch
of papers."
I would have expected much sloppier work in the old days of hand
written or typed work, when redoing a page to correct errors was a
major hassle.
-Don Perley
--
perley@trub.crd.ge.com
------------------------------
End of Info-Mac Digest
******************************