Info-Mac-Request@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (The Moderators) (05/03/89)
Info-Mac Digest Tue, 2 May 89 Volume 7 : Issue 79
Today's Topics:
BACKUP QUESTION
Combining .HQX (2 msgs)
Ethernet vs LocalTalk
ftp gif files solution
Graphics file conversion
Hebrew fonts...
Jasmine cdev problem with MultiFinder
Kermit problem
Macintosh Technical Notes - 0 About Macintosh Technical Notes
Multi-launch an app
SCSI Accelerator 2.10
StuffIt going commercial
Unity + multi-pt. binhexed files
Your Info-Mac Moderators are Lance Nakata, Jon Pugh, and Bill Lipa.
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].
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: 2 May 1989 08:00-EDT
From: MENDELSOHN@a.isi.edu
Subject: BACKUP QUESTION
Can anyone help on the following problem: I would like to
perform automatic incremental (or even full) back ups of
individual mac's on an appletalk network to a central location.
By automatic I mean no interaction on the part of the users or
network manager would be required other than the occasional
changing of a tape or disk. I have 9 Mac II's and one Mac plus
that I would like to use for this task. We also have a
connection to a Vax through a kinetics fastpath. What hardware
and software is available to solve this problem? We are also
interested in putting appleshare on the same Mac plus. So please
express your preferences on appleshare and apple share-like
products, also. THANK YOU.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 9:48:09 EDT
From: Tom Coradeschi <tcora@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Combining .HQX
Dave <dsill@RELAY.NSWC.NAVY.MIL> writes:
>>From: Tom Coradeschi <tcora@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
>>Why mess around with downloading multiple segments of .hqx files?
>>Combine them on your Internet host, using 'cat' for example, on
>>a UN*X host. Then you only have to download one file.
>
>Why mess around with downloading first to an intermediate host when
>one can ftp directly to the Mac using, say, TOPS Terminal?
>
>-Dave (dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil)
If I understand the way these things work, you need to have a TCP/IP
connection to your host to do FTPs. I don't (yet), so I have to FTP to our
DEC 8600 host, then Kermit from the host to the Mac. That was the topic I
thought I was replying to...
tom c
Bill the Cat sez: "Remember. If some weirdo in a blue suit
offers you some MS-DOS. JUST SAY NO!"
ARPA: tcora@pica.army.mil UUCP:...!{uunet,rutgers}!pica.army.mil!tcora
-or- tcora@ardec.arpa BITNET: Tcora@DACTH01.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 11:05:58 EDT
From: dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil
Subject: Combining .HQX
>From: Tom Coradeschi <tcora@ARDEC.ARPA>
>Dave <dsill@RELAY.NSWC.NAVY.MIL> writes:
>>Why mess around with downloading first to an intermediate host when
>>one can ftp directly to the Mac using, say, TOPS Terminal?
>
>If I understand the way these things work, you need to have a TCP/IP
>connection to your host to do FTPs. I don't (yet), so I have to FTP to our
>DEC 8600 host, then Kermit from the host to the Mac. That was the topic I
>thought I was replying to...
The topic was combining .hqx files. I wanted to point out that not
everyone wants, or needs, to ftp files to an intermediate UNIX or VMS
host before putting them on the Mac. You mentioned a program in the
sumex-aim archives that does this on the Mac, but I haven't been able
to find it.
-Dave (dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 10:15:33 EDT
From: magill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Network Planning)
Subject: Ethernet vs LocalTalk
>According to the review, a move to an Ethernet network would result in
>only an incrimental gain in performance. The biggest gain was for
>large file transfers, which had an increase in performance of 43%.
>The average gain was about 20% (?), overall.
>
>Its my feeling that the CPU speeds must be increased in order for the
>advantages of Ethernet to be realized. Comments, anyone?
>
The biggest problem I had with the MacUser review was its LocalTalk
bias. For watever reason, they picked a methodology which showed no
benefit for Ethernet OR for the faster CPUs when used as servers.
The MACII/IICX/SE30 all had a performance plateau at the same place -
implying that the LocalTalk Speed was a limiting factor,
not the speed of the CPU since the 3 have different CPU speeds.
And I don't even want to guess about the performance difference with
the "radius cdev" thrown in.
I happen to agree with the other comment, that the primary reason for
choosing Ethernet in a homgenious environment is quite simple -
CONNECTIVITY. A MAC with an Ethernet board and one of the TCP/IP based
packages can fully participate in the Internet. And if you want to
do NSF type file sharing....[Internet = Internet/NSFnet/ARPAnet, not
Apple's 'internet'.]
But it all depends upon what your goal is. Apple Talk (or whatever it's
name is - can't keep them straight anymore) has an inherent speed
limitation based upon the chip set used in its implementation. No single
MAC can best that 248K rate (I don't have the number handy but seem to
recall that number). Now for interactive use - the MAC as a terminal
via a "gateway box", it doesn't much matter because you can't
type anywhere near that rate. But if you want to up/down-load files,
not only to hosts but to MAC servers, and hosts acting as MAC servers,
then the speed differences begin to make a big difference.
Ditto for the number of stations. The bandwidth implications of the
discussion become more important as you add more and more stations.
A small work group environment of 20-30 macs, a file server and a
print server, are "probably best served" (read bang for the buck) by
"out of the box AppleTalk". However, adding a couple of file servers,
or NFS or connectivity to the Internet, and then the advantages of
being a direct peer on the Ethernet begin to outweigh the increased
costs. [I don't have any hard data here, just intuitive estimates.]
So, look at where your packets go.
If they just go mostly to LaserWriters, and occasionally to a FileServer,
and once in a while to the Internet, then AppleTalk/"gateway thing"
is probably the answer for you.
But if most of your folks are going to spend 1-2 hours a day in a telnet
session on a host to read mail or news [When are we going to see an NNTP
agent for MAC/TCP?????], and if they need to transfer files back and
forth frequently, and if you plan to use NSF, then Ethernet is the
only way to fly.
One thing I've learned in 20 years in the computer business -
It doesn't matter what the hardware can do or how cheap/expensive it is -
if it does not do what your users want it to do, then it isn't worth the
powder to blow it to xyzzy.
William H. Magill Manager, PENNnet Operations Planning
Data Communications and Computing Services (DCCS) University of Pennsylvania
Internet: magill@dccs.upenn.edu magill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu
magill@upenn.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 15:14:09 PDT
From: lwong%sal54.usc.edu@oberon.usc.edu (Lawrence Wong)
Subject: ftp gif files solution
I would like to thank everybody for the help and suggestion. To summerize,
when making a binary transfer of a gif file:
1. Make sure to turn of the MacBinary Enable on NCSA Telenet before doing the transfer. Thus the file can be read by Gif.
2. Another soultion: Change the file type to TEXT using ResEdit.
Again thanks for everybody's help.
Lawrence Wong
lwong@girtab
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 May 89 16:09:47 CST
From: Bill Hayes <IANR012%UNLVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Graphics file conversion
Does anyone have information about a package called Meta? A statistics
programmer I know is interested in converting SAS graph files into PICT
formatted graphic files. Any information would be appreciated.
Bill H.............
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 May 89 11:17:38 EDT
From: dmg@mitre.mitre.org
Subject: Hebrew fonts...
Check out (1) Super Hebrew and Laser Hebrew, both available from MacConnection
and other mail-order houses I'm sure, and (2) Davka Corp. in New York, which
makes Hebrew fonts, as well as Hebrew (i.e. right to left) versions of RSG
and some other applications.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 May 89 00:54 cdt
From: Richard <Tilley%ccm.UManitoba.CA@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Jasmine cdev problem with MultiFinder
I had a similar problem with a DD140/512KE/MacSnap548S.
The disk would freeze, with the red access light on, during I/O
intensive operations like quitting to the (uni)Finder when lots of
windows were open. The problem got worse over a period of a month.
It also got worse as the disk warmed up. The disk worked best
inside the fridge with the mac in front of the closed door.
The disk would freeze after a random interval, sometimes even
before the happy mac face. The best way to reproduce the problem
was to do a "Validate Sectors" in the DriveWare application.
"Test Disk" always passed. Reformatting fixed it for a while.
I got a replacement from ComputerWare that doesn't have that
problem but has developed the habit of spinning down a few times
each morning when it is turned on. It first speeds up, then the
speed wavers a bit and it dies with the characteristic "click"
that sounds like a solenoid. The fan stays running, the light normal.
This problem goes away once it is warm.
Disclaimer: I'm not at home so a few details above will be inexact.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 17:10 EDT
From: <PJORGENS%COLGATEU.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu> (Peter Jorgensen - Micro Specialist)
Subject: Kermit problem
Greetings,
I'm having trouble getting 8bit characters transferred from one system to my
Mac II using Kermit 0.9(40). I have tried about everything, and have come to
the conclusion that for some reason Eighth-bit prefixing is not being
recognized by Kermit on the Mac, but it is being performed by the sending
Kermit. I have tried changing parity, setting Mac Kermit to TEXT and Binary
file types, etc. The Kermit documentation states that Macintosh Kermit does
support 8th-bit prefixing.
Can you straighten me out?
Thanks much.
Peter Jorgensen
Microcomputer specialist
Colgate University - Hamilton, NY 13346
AppleLink - U0523
BITNET - PJORGENSEN@COLGATEU
tel - 315-824-1000 ext 742
------------------------------
Date: 30 Apr 89 17:00:30 GMT
From: bytebug@dhw68k.cts.com (Roger L. Long)
Subject: Macintosh Technical Notes - 0 About Macintosh Technical Notes
Technical Note #0 (this document) accompanies each release of Macintosh
Technical Notes. This release includes revisions to Notes 52, 120, 126,
129, 176, and 189, new Notes 228-232, and an index to all released
Macintosh Technical Notes.
[These files will be showing up in the tn directory reasonably soon.]
------------------------------
Date: Tue May 2 08:58:54 1989
From: ucla-se!ucla-an!hermix!lance@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Subject: Multi-launch an app
I have an app that wants to be multi-launched and I cannot find any info
about doing such a thing. I have not found any info about launching
ANY programs from inside an app. Can it be done??? If so, how???
Any and ALL help would be appreciated very much!!!!
Thanks,
Lance Ellinghouse
--
Lance Ellinghouse
Mark V Systems, Ltd.
UUCP: ...!hermix!lance
ARPA: ucla-an!hermix!lance@ee.UCLA.EDU
------------------------------
Date: 29 Apr 89 03:01:05 GMT
From: dolf@uva.UUCP (Dolf Starreveld)
Subject: SCSI Accelerator 2.10
Some one and a half year ago, somebody put on the net an INIT file that
was reported to improve SCSI disk performance considerably. However,
that file contained a huge bug. Shortly after that I put on the net a
quick hack that fixed that bug. Since system 6.0x came out, I noticed
that the init no longer installed the patches. The reason was that the
init code checked the piece of code it was going to patch for the
occurrence of certain instructions so that it could be sure that it was
patching the right thing. After some hacking I found out that the
patches were still applicable, but they had to be applied at a
different position in the SCSI manager code. Thus, I fixed the INIT to
check for both cases and handle them correclty. In the process, I also
added an icon to the init, which will only be shown when the patches
are really applied. I am sending out the archive below containing
several variants of the INIT (see the READ_ME file) and some
documentation. In the documentation it is explained how it works and
for whom it will work.
Dolf Starreveld Phone: +31 20 592 5056/+31 20 592 5022, TELEX: 10262 HEF NL
EMAIL: dolf@uva.uucp (...!mcvax!uva!dolf), or dolfs@hasara5.bitnet
SNAIL: Dept. of Math. and Computing Science, University of Amsterdam,
Kruislaan 409, NL-1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
[Archived as /info-mac/init/scsi-accelerator-21.hqx; 19K]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 May 89 19:26 CDT
From: "Sandro Corsi, Univ.of WI-Oshkosh" <CORSI@oshkosh.wisc.edu>
Subject: StuffIt going commercial
Sorry -- didn't mean to startle the public... it may not be all that bad after
all. The news was in the "Knife" column (p.90), "MacWeek", March 28. It
basically says that Lau, who's planning to get a degree, is turning over
marketing of an enhanced "StuffIt Deluxe" to a new company called Aladdin
Software. Supposedly, & I quote, "original shareware supporters will not be
abandoned" [...] "the world has not yet seen the last Lau shareware product".
Hard to say what the implications will be... concurrent share- and shop-ware
version of the same product could end up with the former being just a feeble
teaser for the latter. On the other hand, StuffIt is, I think, far more
important as a file format standard than as an application -- and no-one so
far has clamored for improvements to the file format itself. As long as people
stick to that standard, I guess a little competition in this field wouldn't
hurt -- different developers trying different approaches and adding features
to their file-archiving utilities.
Sandro
P.S. - pass this on to the digest if you think my previous message needs the
additional clarification.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 89 09:21 EDT
From: Matthew Wall <WALL%brandeis.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Unity + multi-pt. binhexed files
Unfortunately for those of us on Bitnet, multiple-part files are a necessity
because of Bitnet's 300k size restriction. I've searched the Rice and PUCC
archives for Unity, however, and I can't find it (my indices are only about
three weeks old.) Not that I can't do the cutting and pasting, etc., in
the editor, but if someone has gone to the trouble of writing an applicatio
n to make my life easier, I can't just ignore it, can I? So could
someone please post Unity to Rice? Thanks...Matt Wall
[Actually, please send it to us here at sumex. Since Rice is a shadow archive,
we have to put the file in here in order for it to show up there. -Bill]
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End of Info-Mac Digest
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