Moderators.Jon.Pugh;Dwayne.Virnau;Lance.Nakata@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU.UUCP (06/04/88)
INFO-MAC Digest Sunday, 5 Jun 1988 Volume 6 : Issue 56
Today's Topics:
Mac II WishList Summary
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Date: Fri 20 May 88 11:14:49-PDT
From: Ken Laws <LAWS@IU.AI.SRI.COM>
Subject: Mac II WishList Summary
Wow. You (we?) Info-Mac readers really come through! I'd like to
thank Godfrey DiGiorgi, Christopher Chow, Fernando Pereira, Rick
Light, Steve Weyer, Joe McMahon, Josh Hayes, Anselmo Lastra,
George McKee, Keith Kutner, Jay Garvin, Felix Ingrand, Steve
Buyske, David Oster, Leo Geoffrion, Anders (OK2ANDER), Barry
Semo, Freek Wiedijk, Bill Bumgarner, Woody Yeung, Alan Larson,
Mike Donegan, Les LaCroix, Sorrel Jakins, Lee Thomison, Herb
Barad, Mike Linnig, Jeffrey Sullivan, Miguel%cs.umass.edu,
Miguel Cruz, and Martin Minow for their help. I've also included
information from info-mac and from magazine reviews in the following.
As some of you suspected, my budget won't really cover all the
software packages I mentioned. Neither do I have time to learn
them all at once. Your suggestions will help me buy the most
useful ones first; I can then wait for improved versions of the
others. However, I do want to get enough software functionality
to justify the expense of the hardware. It's kind of like buying
landscaping with a new house: the cost isn't so painful when it's
expressed as a percentage of a larger system price.
I asked about a home/family system, but with software development
and data analysis tools so that I could ply my research trade.
(Carpenters, lawyers, and truckers own their own tools -- why not
programmers and scientists?) Here's what I've gotten so far:
Hardware:
The Macs aren't sensitive to power-line problems. If power
fluctuations are bad enough to affect the peripherals, I should get
the best power conditioning short of uninteruptable -- about $120.
ThunderScan is a toy. Granted, but that's good enough for scanning
in my kids' pictures. (Most expensive OCR systems don't work very well
either.) I'll have the ImageWriter anyway, so the cost is reasonable.
No one commented on Read-It!TS; I presume it reads only simple fonts.
Several people pointed out that I'll want more memory if I'm
going to run HyperCard, MultiFinder, and all those statistical
packages and other programs, not to mention storing scanned images.
Yes, but I'll wait for memory prices to decrease and for my bank
balance to bounce back. I would have gotten the 80Mb internal
disk, but Apple didn't offer it with the 2Mb bundle.
Communication:
VersaTerm is just about everyone's favorite, although the documentation
is very poor. MicroPhone II was also suggested; it runs modem or
kermit protocols in the background under MultiFinder. RedRyder works
now, although somewhat clumsily, but the company has offended a lot
of users. I presume that a macro package like Tempo II or even QuicKeys
can match RedRyder's macros. MacKermit is free (e.g., from KERMSRV@CUVMA).
MacTerminal (or the MacTerminal protocol in VersaTerm?) is useful with
macput and macget for file transfers from Unix systems, but is annoyingly
slow to exit. Freeterm (from SUMEX-AIM) was suggested, as was Pacer's pcLink.
Mac240 was suggested as a VT200 emulator. I have no need of InTalk or TOPS;
I think the same is true of SmartCom II. AlisaTalk was recommended for
for Ethernet communication with Vax VMS.
StuffIt is essential. I get the impression that it includes PackIt III
and BinHex 4.0 capabilities; if not, SUMEX should have the code. (By the
way, PackIt III does work on the II.) StuffIt 1.31 may be preferable
to 1.40. I may also want Microfilm Reader, free from Buck, Wheat and
Associates (1601 Weatherstone Dr., Blue Springs, MD 64015, (816) 229-5632).
I'm not sure what program I need for manipulating Arpanet mail files
that I've archived.
Word Processing:
Everyone says WordPerfect is good, although initially buggy
(essentially a beta release!), but that FullWrite Professional
is better. I'll reconsider. I tend to prefer anything written
for the Mac to lowest-common-denominator software ported from
other machines. I'm also wary of PC-style software because the
color selections and artistic choices tend to be mediocre.
On the other hand, I'm told that the initial FullWrite release
is slow and includes some poor formatting features. Either editor
will have a text-only option, and can thus be used for coding.
Other editors such as MacWrite 5.0, WriteNow, and Word were suggested
as perfectly adequate for ordinary use. JOVE and microEMACS are for
those who can't break old habits. QUED is OK, but the simple editors
that come with MPW, Lightspeed C, TEXtures, and other programs
are good for most code editing and file hacking. There are some
DA editors that sound useful: McSink 4.3, SEdit, PowerEdit, etc.
Laser Author is for people who need to put graphics in their text.
Expressionist 1.11 is better than MacEQN, although getting all
the small fonts for nested sub/superscripting can be a pain.
There's also something called MathType ($149 list) for graphic
constuction of equations (with TEX interface capability), but I
haven't checked out the April Macworld review.
TEXtures with LaTex is pretty good, for those who can stand it,
but the lack of BibTex macros has users upset. It is possible
to use HyperCard for generating bibliographies.
No one commented on Document Compare or any utility similar to
Unix diff or Twenex srccom. Perhaps this comes with one of the
common utility packages.
Spelling:
Spellswell and Coach are good, but new editor formats might be a problem.
WordPerfect comes with its own speller and thesarus anyway. (I'll bet
FullWrite does too.)
Graphics:
Everyone has a favorite. I've already ordered the Claris
MacPaint 2.0 and MacDraw, as I mentioned, and will probably upgrade
them to the II versions. Those, plus my editor, should handle
my document production needs -- at least until I can afford a laser
printer. Other recommended packages are CricketDraw, FullPaint, and
SuperPaint. PixelPaint and Modern Artist are probably overkill.
There's no question that SuperPaint is a bargain, although it doesn't
handle color. Canvas is buggy, but some people like it. CricketDraw
also has some bugs. My kids would probably enjoy Crystal Paint or
KaleidaGraph.
ImageStudio is mainly for high-res retouching of scanned images;
I presume it works on the Mac II. I'll wait for Digital Darkroom
($295 list) to come out this June. I hear that both developers are
planning extensions to color imagery. There's also a new MacImage 2.0,
but for $495 I'm not likely to find out what it does. I'll certainly
get SmartScrap/The Clipper and SuperGlue. Obviously ThunderScan comes
with something like the Giffer display program archived at Sumex.
I haven't investigated graphic databases yet, although WetPaint looks
like a good starter set. I'll get used to the fonts I have, or can
get free, before investing in something garish like World-Class Fonts
or Fluent Fonts 2.0. The Font Preview stack on SUMEX looks like
a good utility for checking out freeware fonts.
No one commented on Curator (II-compatible?) or PictureBase 1.2 for
indexing clip art. DAZZL makes something called ClipArt+. The WetPaint
database comes with the excellent Art Roundup browser DA; should I also
get WetPaint's PictureBase option for $15 extra?
Slides:
MORE 1.1c is a good program and can be used for color presentations,
but I can get by with just my editor and graphics program --
at least until MORE 2.0 comes out in a few months. I don't know how
the Acta DA compares with More. PowerPoint is popular with some, but
pricey; it does include SmartScrap though. Cricket Presents is
good for making slides. VideoWorks II is popular for preparing
animated educational materials; it might be a good educational toy
for my kids, especially with the VideoWorks HyperCard Driver.
Publishing:
PageMaker 3.0 is the standard in page layout, and therefore talks
to everything else. ReadySetGo! 4.0 is smaller and easier to use.
(Quark XPress is a more powerful -- and expensive -- program.)
I really don't need any of these, at least until I have a PostScript
laser printer. I only need Glue (e.g., with MicroPhone II) and
SuperGlue for tying graphics and word processing programs together.
No one offered information about Trapeze 2.0, which is a new combination
spreadsheet and presentation program. I think that means you can build
formulas into your formatted document instead of copying data from a
separate spreadsheet. The program has an abundance of functions and graph
formats, but is somewhat weaker than Excel on date functions. Anyway,
I don't really need a spreadsheet or grapher. If I did, I would also
take a serious look at Parameter Manager Plus (II-compatible?), Cricket
Graph, or the statistics programs.
PosterMaker Plus from Strider Software sounds like a winner
for those of us with kids and without laser printers. It's one
way to get fancy fonts and layouts, as well as banners. I've
forgotten where I read about it; probably last week's MacWeek.
Databases:
HyperDA is too limited. HyperCard 1.2 is in, although I'm going to wish I
had a 5Mb machine. I did get a recommendation of DAZZL's Organizer+
[from one of the developers]. Microsoft File is OK for simple lists.
I don't know anything about FileMaker Plus yet (except that it's due for
upgrade to version 4 in late May), or Focal Point, QuickDEX, Record
Holder Plus, or the ArchiText that's under development.
I'll just stick with HyperCard and vanilla text files for now. (After all,
that's why word processors have search commands.) Some utilities for
locating files by their contents are Findswell (a bit slow), Sonar 4.5,
and the new Gofer. The latter two offer boolean search connectives.
No one commented on Reports for HyperCard. I haven't seen a review,
but it looks like a useful tool. I'll skip HyperBook Maker. STAX
offers some utilities -- HyperCard Helper and HyperCard Sound Effects
Studio -- that look interesting.
Professional Bibliographic System is clumsy (and expensive). I'll
stick with HyperCard and/or LaTeX until something better comes along.
No word yet on Publish or Perish.
Statistics:
StatWorks plus CricketGraph is a good low-cost statistical system.
Systat is complex, fully loaded; I might need more disk space if I wanted
to use it for serious data analysis. There was a review of StatView II in
a recent issue of Macintosh Today (that I haven't seen). All of the above
plus Stat80, Statfast, Statpack, TrueStat, and WormStat were reviewed by
R.S. Lehman in Statistics on the Macintosh, Byte, July 87, pp. 207-214.
MacSpin 1.11 does work on the II, but is highly specialized. StatSoft has
just announced the MacSS statistical system with a "limited time" price of
$119; I don't know how it compares to the others. DataDesk Professional
may also be out soon.
I didn't ask for a discussion of equation solvers and numerical analysis
programs like Eureka, Math View Professional, and Numerical Methods
Tool Box. I hear that Mathematica (similar to SMP) is coming out, and so
is a derivative of the APL language. I presume that dozens of companies
are wrapping Mac interfaces around existing scientific packages.
Programming:
The large MPW environment comes highly recommended. Lightspeed C 2.15
(upgraded from 2.01) is a worthwhile addition if I do much C coding,
especially if the promised version 3 has a debugger. Otherwise the TMON
debugger is an essential tool, although MacBugs is OK. The Programmer's
Extenders libraries are reported to be useful, but I won't need the CAPPs
unless I have to write editor interfaces. I don't need the MDS 68000
Development System since these other environments include assemblers.
I don't know anything about the ExperTelligence development environment.
ResEdit is essential. MacNosy was mentioned only as a way of
getting around copy protection, and MacZap is much cheaper for that.
(I think this is also a function of Hard Disk Util, but I was told
that I wouldn't need it. I don't grok CP patches and backups yet.)
Eventually I'll want to acquire software written in C or for C programmers,
such as C++, RuleC, CLIPS, or microART. There's a world of C code out there.
I'll have to come up with the application before investing in the tools --
but isn't it funny how much easier it is to do things the other way 'round?
Allegro CommonLisp looks good, although it can't yet build standalone
applications. I'm told that a $99 subset called Pearl is comming out.
ExperCommonLisp, which lacks typecasting, also comes in two versions; the
$800 one can build applications. ISI Grapher is available for the Mac II
with either supplier's product.
No comments on Prologs. One user of Terrapin Logo said
he had been happy with it, and MacLogo was mentioned.
AAIS Prolog seems to be the default, although other Prologs have
specific advantages. AAIS can run APES, Augmented Prolog for Expert
Systems, but I don't know whether that's worth doing.
One respondent expressed satisfaction with Terrapin Logo. I have no
reason to fault ExperLogo, MacLogo, or Object Logo. Terrapin does
offer some hooks to other languages.
APDA's unsupported $75 Smalltalk was also suggested, although the
documentation is very poor. Parc Place markets a better Smalltalk,
but at $1295 -- so get the 90% educational discount or forget it.
My kids will probably not be programming in C or Lisp for a long time.
ZBasic is OK, although it can be crashed. (The converter I mentioned
translates MS Basic syntax into ZBasic.) Unfortunately, Basic is known
to cause brain damage. HyperTalk is probably the best programming entry
for the kids.
I've seen rumors of a HyperCard Construction Kit and a HyperEngine
Development Kit for those wanting to build on HyperTalk. I've already
mentioned the STAX utilities. There is also an expert-system shell
called MacSMARTS ($195 list) that links to HyperCard.
Utilities:
The most highly recommended utilities are QuicKeys, DiskFit, Disk Express,
MacZap, FEdit Plus (available as shareware), Suitcase or Font/DA
Juggler Plus, and PowerStation. People don't seem to have Stepping Out II
yet, but at least there were no negative comments. (It does slow some
programs.) QuicKeys needs a 256K disk cache under MultiFinder to avoid a
disk read on program switch. Some people prefer Tempo II for setting up
macro sequences and Icon-It! for accessing them. Other programs that were
praised are MockPackage+, DiskTop, Fkey Manager, and QuickFolder (shareware
INIT). I don't need Copy II Mac (with MacTools) or Hard Disk Util.
No one commented on Disk Ranger, Battery Pak, Disk Quick, Front Desk, or
Top Desk, or contradicted my statement that Sidekick 2.0 won't work on the II.
I'm starting to get a handle on all the disk utilities, although there
is so much functional overlap between packages that no single system
dominates. Someone should put all the best utilities in one package.
Maybe they have: Symantec has just announced Symantec Utilities for
Macintosh, or SUM, for June 9 shipment at $99.95 (or $30 upgrade from
MacZap). This includes Guardian (some kind of disk index that allows
quick crash recovery), HD TuneUp for disk compaction, Symantec Tools
for data viewing and editing, QuickCopy for floppy duplication, HD
Partition for speed and partition locking, HD Recover for crash recovery,
and a utility for virus protection. Also a coupon for a free
HFS Navigator or Laserspeed to the first 5,000 buyers. Call
(800) 888-0866 ext. 751M, or (408) 446-994 for MacZap upgrade.
SUM aside, the following functional groupings seem reasonable.
For backups, DiskFit 1.4 is the only way to go. FlashBack was suggested
as a useful complement to DiskFit backups, and HFS Backup was mentioned.
StuffIt is also useful for archiving.
For disk compaction, Disk Express is the premier product.
MacZap 5.0 with Disc Clinic is the leading disk repair utility (and
the basis of the SUM utility). Other good tools are in Battery Pak (which
includes Disk Tools), Disk First Aid, Fedit Plus, and MackPackage+.
There are a number of good packages for keeping track of disk files
and printing labels. Disk Ranger seems to be a favorite, but Disk
Quick (formerly Disk Librarian), Disk Info (shareware), and MacDisk
Catalog II 2.11 are also good. As with most of the utilities, I
don't know which of these are II-compatible, but anything that doesn't
use real-time graphics or elaborate sounds is probably OK.
There is quite a selection of finders, launchers, folder utilities, etc.
PowerStation and Suitcase are highly regarded. HFS Navigator may have
some advantages over PowerStation, and Font/DA Juggler Plus has at least
a sound utility that Suitcase lacks. MenuFonts 2 is handy for displaying
font names in their own styles. Other programs (about which I know
little) are DiskTop, Fkey Manager, HFS Locator Plus, Launcher FKey (freeware),
QuickFolder, and TopDesk. MultiSet 2.0 is a way of keeping multiple
environments active.
People seem to like QuicKeys for organizing all this power. Icon-It!
is another approach, and one can get Icon Maker or the Color Icon Editor
(on SUMEX) for designing new icons. Tempo II is a useful macro system.
I've forgotten what On Cue and SoundMaster do.
Other useful utilities are Stepping Out II for increasing screen size,
Smart Alarms for appointment notifications, and RamDisk+ 2.07 for
speed (at the risk of losing data during a crash).
MacSafe seems pretty straightforward; either you want to lock files or you
don't. Sentinal more expensive, presumably more elaborate. NightWatch
locks up the entire system, as do the LockOut utility that comes with
MenuFonts and the Hard Disk Password program at SUMEX. 'NCryptor is the
best of the commercial encryption packages, but there's plenty of freeware
for encrypting files.
No one commented on the II-in-a-Mac software Apple II emulator, so I
don't know if it's II-compatible. There is a DOS emulator called SoftPC
for $595 from Insignia (5.25" disk drive not included) that may be even
better than the DOS board that's available. Come to think of it, though,
I've got enough trouble without trying to buy/learn Apple II or DOS software.
Literature:
Reading is such an inexhaustable hobby! The following are recommended:
Inside Macintosh and the associated tech notes, development system support
docs, and user interface guidelines; Scott Knaster's How to Write Macintosh
Software and Macintosh Programming Secrets; Addison Wesley's Introduction to
Macintosh Family Hardware and Introduction to Macintosh Programming;
Chernicoff's Macintosh Revealed; and the HyperCard Scripting book.
Goodman's HyperCard Handbook was disrecommended by one respondent. (Maybe
I need a thesarus program ...)
Incidentally, there's a Small Computer Book Club that's offering
Macintosh Programming Secrets, The Complete HyperCard Handbook,
HyperTalk Programmers' Guide, and Programming with the Macintosh
Programmer's Workshop for $4.95 + 3 purchases in 12 months. I don't
know how long delivery takes.
I should also subscribe to MacTutor Magazine (P.O. Box 400 (or 846?),
Placentia, CA 92670; (714) 630-3730) and order the Best of MacTutor
volumes 1 & 2 from them or from B. Dalton Bookstores - $30 each.
I'm not sure if The Complete MacTutor Vol. 2 is the same thing.
Anyway, MacTutor source code disks 1-25 are available for $8 each.
I should also join the Apple Programmers' and Developers' Association
(APDA) (290 SW 43rd Street, Renton, WA 98055) for $35 per year, and
should investigate macserv@rice and macserv@irlearn as sources of code
by sending an "index" command.
There is a new monthly, Mac II Review, for $67 per year (240 Sunnyridge
Ave., Bldg. 112-Dept. B, Fairfield, Conn. 06430; (203) 334-0334).
MacWeek is free if you fill out their questionnaire. I see MacUser as
a good user-oriented magazine, Macweek as more vendor-oriented. I haven't
run across MacToday yet. There are a few articles in MicroTimes, Bay Area
Computer Currents, Byte, etc. The Bay Area Users' Group (BMUG) publishes
a 300-400 page newsletter twice a year.
Education:
No comments on Business Simulator, Chipwits, Puppy Love, MacRobots,
Dinner at Eight, Japanese/Chinese tutorials, or other educational software.
There is a MacFingerspeller for teaching American Sign Language (Microtech
Consulting Co., Inc., 909 W. 23rd Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613;
(800) 992-SIGN; $29.95 for the talking version, $19.95 otherwise).
I'm also told that there's an Esperanto stack and one for learning Spanish
conjugations. Stackware seems to be developing as the premier source of
preloaded databases.
Music:
Practica Musica runs on the Mac II, but Deluxe Music Construction Set
doesn't. Studio Session 1.4 runs, but freezes on quit; use MultiFinder
or another launcher to exit. No one contradicted my statement that
Music Mouse won't run, and no one commented on Listen 2.0. (MIDI
software doesn't run on the II yet because of a stack-length problem,
but I'm not into MIDI yet anyway.)
Games:
Popular Mac II games are Beyond Dark Castle, Beyond Zork, Crystal Quest,
ShadowGate, Lode Runner (despite what MacUser reported), and Sargon III.
No one disputed that Balance of Power, Shanghai, Smash Hit Racquetball II,
or Zork Trilogy would work. Uninvited and Deja Vu probabably work.
MacGolf 3.0 is just now coming out. Wizardry runs, but not under
MultiFinder. Chessmaster 2000 has some bugs, crashes on exit.
I still have no information about II-compatibility for Battle Stations,
Borrowed Time, Carmen San Diego, Down Hill Racer, Klondike, Mind Over Mac,
Psion Chess, Quarterstaff (new version 1.2e), Real Poker, Seven Cities of Gold,
or Trust and Betrayal.
The Mac II cannot run Apache Strike, Dark Castle, Falcon, or OrbQuest.
No one supported other games I said were not II-compatible: Archon,
Ancient Art of War, Ferrari Grand Prix, Fokker Triplane, GATO,
MS Flight Simulator, Ogre, Orbiter, Skyfox or Winter Games. Ultima III
probably doesn't work.
There are hundreds of public-domain games (e.g., Brickles on SUMEX);
anybody got a catalog or description? I've noticed ads for companies
distributing PD software for about $20 per disk -- I presume that the
same programs are available over the networks, but finding them and
selecting is a pain. Boston Computer Society was mentioned as one source
of zillions of programs. I have access to those at SUMEX. We have some
freeware at SRI (it took me 60 pages to list the files!), and I've been
told that (201) 340-3531 is a good place to start accessing the 80-or-so
PD bboards. Are there any good catalogs, handbooks, surveys, or descriptions
available, or is it all word of mouth (and trial and error)? I'm sure a users'
group is just what I need, so I'll investigate when I get to Washington DC.
Vendors:
No particular caveats except for shipping delays and old versions of
software. MacConnection was praised by several, MacWAREHOUSE by one.
MacConnection is indeed at or exceedingly near the cheapest price on
almost every package that they advertised. (Possible exceptions
are MicroPhone II, Coach, Cricket Draw and Graph, Egghead's special on
PixelPaint, MORE 1.1c, ReadySetGo!, HyperBook Maker, Reports, Numerical
Methods Tool Box, DiskFit 1.4, MacZap 5.0, QuicKeys, and MacSafe; even
these might be due to version differences or to my comparing ads from
different months.) I'm amazed that many stores can charge $10 to $100
more than the nationally advertised price for every software package,
even advertising in the same magazines. Of course, it's not fair to buy
by mail and then expect service from a local store.
I've just begun to look at the freeware available to me; it may take
me years. I prefer to work with commercial packages, although I may
change my mind when I become more familiar with the net (or when my
wife takes away my checkbook). Someday I or my kids will get into the
thrill of betaware testing, but for now I want no surprises. Incidentally,
if any of you have packages you'd like to sell at a discount, now would
be a good time to make me an offer.
Well, thanks again. I hope this list is of use to others. The more
Mac II hackers, the better.
-- Ken
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End of INFO-MAC Digest
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