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E-mail:
"Thank you for UMR. If you will keep publishing I will keep reading."
"I liked the rumor mill best."
"The software reviews seemed thin."
"Great"
"More questions and answers would be nice."
"The best Mac news around."
The above is just a tiny sampling of some of the dozens, probably hundreds, of E-mail responses I received. Almost all were positive. The message is loud and clear that the Mac community craves information. So, UMR is going to be published on a regular basis. The exact schedule, and format is yet to be finalized. I'll try to publish on a regular, weekly basis, but as many of you stated in your mail, it may be too much. For now UMR will remain a plain-text publication. We're working with Common Ground and may try a few issues in this format.
Thanks to everybody who responded!
For the time being UMR is being uploaded to two places:
AOL (Mac Hardware Forum)
Sumex-aim.stanford.edu (available via anonymous FTP)
Reviews:
The Internet Starter Kit (Book/Disk combo)
Adam C. Engst
Hayden Books
$29.95
(800) 428-5331
Adam Engst is one of the originators of the E-publications, and his Mac newsletter, TidBits, is read by over 50,000 people (including me). This is Adam's first book and it's a great effort, though the execution is lacking in a few areas.
The book itself is 650 pages long, 287 of which is appendix and index material. The info provided in the book is excellent, I just wish there was more of it. Troubleshooting info is scant at best, and even though the title is "The Internet Starter Kit", I longed for more info on actually using the net. Most of the book is dedicated to just getting connected.
The software is mostly shareware and freeware stuff available anywhere online, with the exception of MacTCP. MacTCP is the program needed to use a SLIP or PPP connection to the Internet. SLIP and PPP connections allow for the use of such great programs as TurboGopher, and the newsreader, Nuntius. Without SLIP or PPP you're limited to typing in Unix commands. The retail price of MacTCP is $59, so the book is quite a deal.
Even though the signal-to-noise ratio is a bit low for a book of this type, The Internet Starter Kit" is definitely recommended.
Incidentally, Hayden is set up to do orders via the Internet, but I've heard of a couple of people finding the book for less at the local bookstore. I'd check around before ordering.
Illustrator 5.0
Adobe Systems
(800) 833-6678
$595 CD-ROM version, $695
Adobe has upped the ante on Postscript drawing programs with version 5.0 of Illustrator.
New for v.5.0 are floating palettes that allow for quick and easy access to most options, support for multiple layers, 200 levels of undo's, improved gradient fills, and plug-in filters.
The user interface is the best of any drawing program available for the Mac; it's simply easy to use, even for a beginner. You can now also draw and edit in preview mode, a long overdue feature.
Creating impressive gradient fills is incredibly simple. Select the object, select the type of gradient in the paint style dialog box and you're done. Want a "hot spot" to show lighting from a specific direction? Just use the gradient tool and draw a line from where the light is originating.
The plug-in filters add many impressive effects. Oddly, they're termed "filters" even though some are used for creating basic shapes, such as stars.
There are many, many other highlights of this great program, but you can find those in any Mac magazine. The bottom line is that this is the best Mac drawing program available. It worked fast, and never crashed. The documentation is fantastic--if you follow each tutorial, you WILL have an excellent grasp of Illustrator.
The printed output from Illustrator is first-rate, even on a non-Postscript printer. I tried it using a LaserWriter LS and a HPIVm. On both printers Illustrator produced much cleaner results than Canvas.
My only complaints are the inability to import TIFF graphics, and that graphics can't be scaled by dragging their selection handles.
Illustrator is highly recommended.
Incidentally, if you have a CD-ROM drive, get the CD version. It contains a ton of fonts and graphics, as well as some totally cool Quicktime movies of Adobe employees showing their favorite Illustrator tips. Worth the extra cash.
New and Thoughts:
Ever thought of starting your own BBS? You can get a free report that will help you with the particulars, as well as provide information about making an income from your BBS.
Write:
BBS Marketing
56089 29 Palms Hwy. Ste. 254-B
Yucca Valley, CA 92284
You may have noticed that some of the recently released Mac's have a different floppy drive opening--the slot has a large circular opening in the middle. Apple is apparently shipping all new Mac's with the new, "non-auto inject" floppy. What this means is that the Mac will no longer grab the floppy and pull it inside. You have to push the floppy in much deeper, hence the cutout. Even more confusing is the fact that many Quadra 840av's and Centris (now Quadra) 660av's were initially shipped with the old, auto-inject floppy. The new drives are still made by Sony, though they are apparently cheaper to produce.
Though I haven't tried the new variety yet, several friends have told me that the difference is barely noticeable. Also, all PowerBooks have had the non-auto inject drives from their inception and nobody seemed to notice.
On the 10/23 showing of Saturday Night Live, there was a fake Apple commercial. This, as you may know, is the second such commercial SNL has featured. The first one is referred to as "The Power to Crush the Other Kids".
The new commercial introduces the McIntosh Post-It Note; a small Newton-like device that you use like a Post-it Note.
The commercial is hilarious, and so well done that you might think it real. It includes such great quotes as "It costs more, but which would you notice" and "The convenience of a Post-It, with the power of a Macintosh". The cut & paste sequence has to be seen!
If you missed it, watch for reruns. The host was John Malkovich and the musical guest was Billy Joel. The commercial plays immediately after the opening monologue.
A Quicktime movie of the Saturday Night Live McIntosh Post-It Note commercial and the infamous "1984" commercial is available via anonymous FTP from:
GregT.Winona.MSUS.EDU (134.29.65.20).
You may want to think twice about FTP'ing it, though. The McIntosh Post-It Note commercial alone is 8380K large. Total playing time: 1 min 37 sec. It will take about 1 1/2 hours with V.32bis. Image quality is adequate, though the screen shots are a bit murky.
And hey, let's not even mention the copyright infringement problems...
Something is clearly affecting the thought patterns of our friends in Cupertino. The slew of Mac's released last week under various names is supposed to "simplify" the product line. Seems someone has "simplify" switched with "complicate", but anyway...
I was going to list all the Mac's ever made, but the list is too long. The following is a summary of the all the Macintosh desktop computers currently available. For a more comprehensive list, see the "Hot Files" section below.
Performa 476 The P475, P476, LC 475, and Q605 are basically the same
Quadra 605 25 mhz 040/no FPU/0 NuBus slots
LC 520 25 mhz 030/optional FPU/0 NuBus slots
LC III 25 mhz 030/optional FPU/0 NuBus slots
LC II 16 mhz 040/0 NuBus slots
Performa 460 33 mhz 040/no FPU/0 NuBus slots
Performa 410 16 mhz 040/no FPU/0 NuBus slots
Color Classic 16 mhz 040/optional FPU/0 NuBus slots
Color Classic II Not for sale in the U.S.
Mac TV See below
Work Group Server 95 Same as Quadra 950
Work Group Server 80 Same specs as Quadra 650
Work Group Server 60 20 mhz 040/no FPU/ 1 7" NuBus slot
The Classic II, IIvx, Performa 600, Duo 210 and Quadra 800 will be sold only until current stock runs out.
Last issue I forgot to mention Mac TV. Mac TV is essentially a Mac with a cable-ready TV and CD player built-in. It comes with a remote control that controls both the television and the CD player.
The Mac part consists of a 32 mhz 68030 with 5 MB of RAM, and a 160 MB hard disk. Price: $2079
I haven't seen one, so I can't say much more. Well, I guess I could say that it sounds like an incredibly stupid idea, but that would be premature, don't you think? It does come in a black case. More as it develops.
Incidentally, whatever is affecting the lads in Cupertino, seems to have migrated to the offices of MacWorld and MacUser. The December issues of each are chock full o' errors regarding the latest Mac's.
For example:
MacWorld lists the Q660av as having a 33mhz 040. Not so, it's 25mhz.
MacUser lists the Q660 as being able to display millions of colors on a 14" monitor, and thousands on a 21" monitor. Not so, it's thousands and 256 respectively.
MacUser states that the Q650 allows you to add an FPU. All Q650's come standard with an integral FPU.
MacUser states that the maximum memory expansion on the Q610 is 64 MB.
It's actually 68 MB. The article claims that maximum memory expansion on
the Q650 is 132 MB. It's really 136 MB.
MacUser's table on the LC and Performa lines show support for 21"
display on the LC II, II and 520, as well as the Performa 410, 460, 466
and 467. None of these machines support 21" displays from their built-in
video. The table also indicates that the Q650 and 800 support
16-bit video on a 21" display. The maximum pixel depth for these machines
on that size display is actually 8-bits (256 colors). The table also lists the maximum
amount of VRAM for the Q800 to be 2 MB. It's actually 1 MB.
The Rumor Mill:
Apple is working on a new PowerBook to be released in the first part of '94. Code named "Blackbird", it will have a 68040 processor, 24 bit color, built in Ethernet, a large active-matrix display, and be the first laptop computer upgradeable to the PowerPC processor.
The Quadra 840av may be the highest powered 68040 Mac released. Motorola doesn't currently offer a 68040 faster than the 40 mhz model installed in the 840. Look for the next high-end Mac to have the PowerPC processor--and it may be sooner than you think.
Does anyone actually use Publish & Subscribe? Seriously.
Look for a 16" version of the Audiovision monitor to be released within six months.
Several, if not most, Macintosh developers now have pre-release prototypes of PowerPC Mac's.
The Applephone application included with av Mac's, seems to have a bug that cuts off callers, or causes recording to go on indefinitely. Apple is reportedly working on a fix.
Sources indicate that the PowerPC Mac's may come in black cases. Other colors may follow depending on the success of the black case. Finally, designer Mac's!
Need a reason to by an av Mac? Here you go: ISDN. Word is that several developers are working on ISDN software for the av Mac's. Look for prices to be under $500.
Questions and Answers:
Q: "What's clock-chipping?" How does it work, and can I do it myself?."
A: "Clock-chipping" refers to the process of installing a higher-speed oscillator to effectively speed up a computer. The oscillator essentially controls what speed the CPU runs at. CPU's are rated at a certain speed, though there is often a significant margin above this rating.
Clock-chipping is very common is the DOS world and has just begun to gain acceptance with the Mac community.
Probably the most commonly done modification is to the Mac IIsi. With nothing more than a soldering iron, a vacuum desolderer (available at Radio Shack for about $10), and a few inexpensive parts, thousands of users have increased the speed of their IIsi's to 25 mhz. This results in a real-world speed gain of about 20%. The complete instructions are available on AOL, and probably Sumex-aim, though I haven't checked.
The advantages of this procedure is pretty obvious--you end up with a faster computer for hardly any capital outlay.
The disadvantage is that you may trash the whole motherboard in the process, and end up trying to turn your Mac into a fish tank.
So the question "can I do it myself?", should probably read "do I want to do it myself?".
If you're handy around electronics and have some soldering experience, go for it. If not, there are a few places that will do the modifications for you, and some others that will sell you ready made clock-chippers.
KS Labs is one company selling the latter. I haven't actually tried the device, but have heard some excellent reviews of the product. In fairness, I've also read about some customers being less than happy.
I'll try to contact KS Labs and see if they can provide an evaluation unit for review. Stay tuned.
Hot Files:
MacHistory
Harry Phillipo
Eugene, Oregon
America Online - "Toymaster"
Apple Link - "R7103"
FidoNet 1:152/42
MacHistory is four TeachText files that contain the entire history of the Macintosh computer line. They chronicle the dates introduced, processor speed, and other details about each model. Two files are in black&white for printing. The other two are in color. Each file contains small, breathtakingly accurate icon-like pictures of each Mac. (Some are better than others, but they're all good)
In fact, even if you're not interested in knowing the entire Mac line, get this file. Using nothing more than that often maligned word-processor, TeachText, you can use the pictures of each Mac as icons for your hard drive. Too cool!
Simply open the files in TeachText. Draw a marquee around the applicable Picasso, and paste into the "Get Info" box of the desired hard drive. Instant customization! Hell, Harry should sell these icons to Apple.
Seriously though, it's obvious that a ton of work has gone into MacHistory. And even though it's freeware, I am sure Harry would enjoy receiving a few accolades in his E-mail box to motivate him for the next batch of Mac releases.
Coming Soon
Reviews of:
QuicKeys 3.0
Ready, Set, Go! 6.0
Infini-D 2.6
Quicken 4.0
HomeWorks Templates
Now Fun
Virtus VR
Nisus 3.4L
Virtus Walkthrough Pro
Hi! Finance
Word Processor Shoot-out: MacWrite Pro vs. Word vs. WordPerfect vs. Nisus
And more...
Coming Next Issue:
Review:WordPerfect 3.0 (sorry, had to push this one back)
Review: Quadra/Centris 660av
A new approach to Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI) (had to push this one back too)
Which Mac and software should a beginner purchase?
And the usual columns: Rumor Mill, Questions and Answers, Misc. Thoughts, Hot Files and more...
