Info-Mac-Request@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (The Moderators) (02/04/89)
Info-Mac Digest Fri, 3 Feb 89 Volume 7 : Issue 24 Today's Topics: Administrivia AppleWorks BackIt 3.03 (was PSBU) part 1 of 2 French Spelling Checker Help on two qestions Hyperscan Magic Button Info-Mac Digest V7 #23 Is partitioning useful for private disks? MacKermit Update with my MAC/SE booting problem 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 Feb 1989 14:38:14 PST From: The Moderators <Info-Mac-Request@sumex-aim.stanford.edu> Subject: Administrivia I have created a new directory called freq. It's intended for answers to frequently asked questions. I think all veteran readers know what these are: 1) How do I generate a Postscript file to use on another printer? 2) Help! My hard disk doesn't show up on the desktop when I boot up. 3) How can I rebuild the desktop? 4) The apple symbol in the menu bar is flashing. I must have a virus. Part of the point of a moderated digest like Info-Mac is to screen out the noise caused by questions like these repeated again and again. However, it's of course necessary for novice users to find out the answers to such questions; that's how they become more experienced. I have put preliminary answers to these questions in the freq directory. Please read them and comment on their accuracy. Feel free to suggest additional topics which should be included in freq. Still no news on updating the Bitnet server to talk with the new archive. However, I have discovered the existence of a mail server which talks to the old archive. This may be convenient for those of you on UUPC and other isolated sites which don't have either Bitnet or FTP access. Mail us for more info. Bill Lipa info-mac-request@sumex-aim.stanford.edu ------------------------------ Date: Friday, 3 Feb 1989 10:21:02 EST From: m20011@mwvm.mitre.org (Anup Patel) Subject: AppleWorks I've been a fan of AppleWorks for many years. Not only have I used it, but I've taught Intro. to Computers courses at a local University. I think it's a very good product not only for beginners, but also for more advanced users. Admittedly, it's not as powerful as MS-Word or other word processors, but for getting the job done FAST, it's very good. Saying all this, has Apple introduced a MAC version? If it has, is A.W. for MAC as fast as for the Apple II/GS/...? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 20:52:57 -0100 From: sund@tde.lth.se (Lars Sundstr|m) Subject: BackIt 3.03 (was PSBU) part 1 of 2 BackIt v3.03 - Preselective Backup Utility(was P.S.B.U.) Enhancements since last version 2.3.x: Most things not directly recognized by the user. Some file copying code rewritten. Better error detection. Possible to create folders from inside the application. BackIt is distributed as shareware. [Archived as /info-mac/util/backit-303.hqx; 42K] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Jan 89 10:42 EST From: <J_RICHAR%HVRFORD.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu> Subject: French Spelling Checker I have been unable to locate a French Spelling Checker that will work with the Macintosh version of Microsoft Word. If anyone knows of one, whether shareware or a commercial product, please let me know. Jan Richard Haverford College Computer Center Bitnet address: J_RICHARD@HVRFORD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 16:48 EST From: Maurice Volaski <V050FN5R%UBVMS.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu> Subject: Help on two qestions To answer your first question, click on the Turbo Pascal icon in the Finder. Choose Set Startup... from the Special menu, and click on the selected applications button, then click OK. (You can remove the finder by starting up from a different disk). To answer your second question, you can add a menu item, but you will only confuse the program. As far as adding code to execute it, I think that a miraculous work of patch code, so you are far better off with putting a public domain desk accessory on the disk that can delete files, such as Disktop. Maurice Volaski ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 15:31:29 PST From: puatu@vlsi.jpl.nasa.gov Subject: Hyperscan Magic Button At the MacWorld Expo, Bill Atkinson demonstrated an undocumented feature in HyperScan called the "Magic Button." With it, the user can select a beginning window and an ending window and HyperScan would interpolate subsequent windows in a multiple scan. Unfortunately, I did not remember how he selected the two windows. Anyone Know? Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 09:42:25 PST From: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) Subject: Info-Mac Digest V7 #23 > Is there any reason for partitioning a private SCSI disk, assuming I'm > not interested in password protection or encryption of contents? > Can it make the disk more robust in the face of misbehaving programs > (can one enforce read-only partitions?) Or reduce fragmentation, or > simplify backups? Yes to all of the above. Partitioning a large hard disk into several smaller volumes will reduce the size of the smallest allocation block. On a 100-meg hard disk, files are allocated in chunks of (I think) 4k bytes each; if you have lots of relatively small files, this can add up to quite a bit of wasted space. If you partition the disk into subvolumes that are < 32 meg each, the allocation blocks become substantially smaller (down to 1k bytes, I think). If you're planning on storing a large number of applications on a hard disk (f'rinstance, in a PD/shareware library), then the "Desktop" file for that disk will become very large; updating the file takes a long time, and if you _really_ stuff the disk full of files you can push the Desktop file past the maximum number of resources that the Resource Manager can support. If this happens, CRASH! By splitting a disk into several partitions, and dividing your collection of applications across these partitions, you can keep the Desktop file size well clear of the point at which its performance begins to suffer. If you use a volume backup utility such as DiskFit (i.e., one which is relatively unselective about what it backs up), you can simplify your backup task by keeping your active data files in a small partition that you back up frequently, your System and applications in another partition that you back up every so often, and your unchanging files (e.g. PD and shareware stuff) in yet another partition that you never back up, but simply restore from your PD/shareware floppies if you need to. The System/application and PD/shareware partitions will suffer very little fragmentation while in use, because their contents are not changed frequently. If the data partition becomes fragmented, it can be defragmented relatively quickly. You can set up a small partition as a "hot lab" for testing new programs of uncertain behavior and possible danger. Build a minimal system environment in this partition using the Installer. When you want to test a new program, drag it over into this partition, command-shift-doubleclick on the Finder in this partition [which makes this partition your "startup volume"], then drag all of the other partitions into the trash (dismounting them). It's MUCH harder for a virus to spread into an unmounted partition (I know of none that are capable of doing so). One can enforce read-only partitions. Jeff Shulman's freeware "DiskLock" desk accessory can set the "volume lock" bit on an HFS partition, thus preventing the creation of new files and the modification of existing ones. This isn't as secure as unmounting the partition or physically write-protecting or unplugging the disk, but it will stop most forms of accidental and willful modification. I have a 100-meg disk in my Mac II, broken up into 3 partitions of about 32 megs each. It's a wonderful setup; I would not want to go back to a nonpartitioned arrangement. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 10:17:07 +0100 From: Sigurd Meldal <sigurd@eik.ii.uib.no> Subject: Is partitioning useful for private disks? There are at least three reasons for partitioning a disk: 1. There is (I believe) on desktop file for each logical disk (i.e. partition). If your disk is unpartitioned, and you have a LOT of files (e.g. MacZap with all the patches, etc.), then updating the desktop file may take a significant amount of time. By sticking these files into a separate partition with little file-creation activity, you reduce the overhead when creating files on other partitions. 2. Disk fragmentation. As time goes by, your files tend to become fragmented - i.e. they are no longer stored contiguously on the physical medium. By partitioning the disk, you reduce the fragmentation, and thereby speed up accesses. 3. Backups. A number of backup programs deal only with disks, not folders. By partitioning your disk you may back up parts of your files as if the partition were a "real" disk. If you organize your partitions wisely, this may reduce the effort of backing up your volatile data significantly. -- Sigurd Meldal ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 14:07 EST From: A. DARO <ACCAMD@HOFSTRA> Subject: MacKermit First, thanks to everyone who has responded to my questions in the past. This has been a terrific source of information. Next - we are distributing MacKermit to users who will be dialing in to both our Vax 8530 and IBM 4381. I need to set up key definitions for each of those settings. I have ordered the latest MacKermit from Columbia, which I understand comes with a key definition program. BUT I am wondering 1) will it include options for both the original Apple keyboard AND the extended keyboard and 2) has anyone done this already who can advise me in advance of things they discovered? Please reply directly to me and I will summarize if people are interested. Thanks in advance - Anne Daro Hofstra University BITNET: ACCAMD@HOFSTRA ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 12:38 AST From: "Jose Mendez, Network Manager" <J_MENDEZ@acupr.upr.cun.edu> Subject: Update with my MAC/SE booting problem Hi, I just wanted to update you on my MAC/SE booting problem. A few weeks ago I submitted my problem. My MAC takes about 3 or 4 minutes to boot from the Hard Disk. When turned on the Disk would just whirl while a disk icon with a flashing question mark would stay on screen. I received some good advices which I quickly implemented. First, some people told me to compact my Desktop file. I don't know how big it was but anyway it didn't help at all. Holding down the option and apple keys while booting the machine causes it to compact the Desktop file. Second, many people told me my HD was too fragmented, that I should de-fragment it. I bought DiskExpress (AlSoft) to do so. It's a very neat utility which I beleive all Mac users should have. I took a look at my disk and it was fragmented like heck. DiskExpress has an option called QUICK OPTIMIZE. It'll de-fragment files but will not optimize the space utilization, in other words, it won't eliminate free space between files. Well this didn't do much either. I then told it to OPTIMIZE with PRIORITY which is the heavy option. Not only does it eliminate the free space between files, but it orders the files in the HD so that system files are at the beginning and files which are dynamic (which write to the HD and are of variable size) are put at the end of the used space so that it takes the free space next to it. It must have taken at least 1 1/2 hours (I'm not sure cause I fell asleep and woke up at 5:30 am). I was very happy to just think that I wouldn't have to sit in front of my MAC and wait 4 minutes. But, oh, the agony, no change at all. The HD looks real neat now but it STILL takes 4 minutes to boot. I appreciate all you people who gave me good suggestions. Is there any other? What else can I do? Thanks. Jose Mendez J_MENDEZ@UPRENET.BITNET J_MENDEZ@ACUPR.UPR.CUN.EDU "Nothing is as easy as it seems." Murphy "When you've tried everything and nothing works... read the instruction." ------------------------------ End of Info-Mac Digest ******************************