Info-Mac 3/Info_Mac_1994-01.iso/Periodical/General/The Underground Mac #5/underground-mac-v1-05.txt

Internet Message Format | 1993-12-30 | 29KB

Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1993 18:23:19 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Michael Shannon)
Subject: The Underground Mac #5

Issue #5 of The Underground Mac is out now! Check the Mac Hardware Forum on
America Online or via anonymous ftp from Sumex-aim.Stanford.edu. Happy
Thanksgiving!

Table Of Contents
Reviews of HomeWorks Templates and The Internet Tour Guide (Book)
Do-it-yourself clock-chipping
A mistake in the Apple Catalog?
Claris CAD dies
Winning the lottery with your Mac
Hot File: FlashIt!

And the usual columns: Rumor Mill, Questions and Answers, Misc. Thoughts,
Hot Files and more...
A incredibly hilarious and witty signature is currently under construction.
The Underground Mac
"Information With An Edge!"

Volume 1 No.5 11/21/93
All contents and title C Michael P. Shannon 1993
A non-profit publication
Freely distributable via electronic means for non-profit purposes-Post it
everywhere!
For other uses please inquire. Thanks!
Send comments, criticisms and questions to:
AOL: Datamike
Internet: [e-mail]

While the information presented herein is true to the best of our
knowledge, please don't base any important decisions on what you read. We
make no guarantees.
Developers: While we don't accept any advertising or "sponsors", we're
happy to review any hardware or software you can provide. Consider it cheap
advertising. For the cost of a single unit, you get the best form of
advertising: the testimonial of an actual Mac user. If you would like to
have a product reviewed, please contact us at one of our E-mail addresses.
Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!
This issue was slightly delayed as I've been preparing for the holiday, not
to mention the whole Saturday I spent at the Apple auction.
The Underground Mac will be on holiday vacation for one week. Look for
issue#6 the week of 12/05/93. Have a nice holiday.

Please Note:
You've probably noticed that the word "Report" has mysteriously vanished
from our title. I was alerted to the possibility that using the word
"Report" in the title MAY have infringed on the trademark of another
for-profit publication.
The details aren't worth reporting here, just look for The Underground Mac
at your local online information dealer!

Table Of Contents
Reviews of HomeWorks Templates and The Internet Tour Guide (Book)
Do-it-yourself clock-chipping
A mistake in the Apple Catalog?
Claris CAD dies
Winning the lottery with your Mac
Hot File: FlashIt!

E-mail:

KK> Mike - Great job on the Underground Mac so far! Three Strikes and
KK> you've hit a Home Run!
KK> Much appreciated! I'll post it as is on KipNet BBS here in Omaha!
KK> ** Kip **: KipNet @[phone] w/ Supra 14.4 V.32bis / Hermes II &
KK> Tabby 3.0

Thanks to Kip and the hundreds of others who have taken the time to write
how much they enjoy The Underground Mac! I've tried to respond to everyone
who wrote, but sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed at all the E-mail. If  I
missed your note, sorry, and please continue to write. Thanks!

JW> To: [e-mail] From: [e-mail] (John
JW> Williams)
JW>
JW> in the underground mac report 93-11-14, you wrote
JW>
JW> It's interesting to note that the computer market is really the only
JW> market where customers become angry when new models are released. Have
JW> you ever heard a car owner become furious because the new '93 model
JW> comes with standard anti-lock brakes and his '92 didn't? Perhaps he
JW> should call the manufacturer and demand an low cost update.
JW>
JW> I would have thought that if GM introduce '93 models which are better
JW> than '92 models *and* 25% cheaper that you would hear all America
JW> scream.....
JW>
JW> Just my two cents worth!!!!!
JW> John Williams
JW> INRA Station de Recherches Avicoles, Centre de Recherches de Tours,
JW> 37380 Nouzilly, France

Excellent point, John!

Reviews:

HomeWorks Templates
$59
Paradygn Concepts Inc.
[phone]

HomeWorks is a collection of over 50 templates for use with either
ClarisWorks or Microsoft Works. A small selection of the Templates is being
included with all new Performas.
The templates are loosely organized into six basic categories including:
home finances, home organization, investments, kid's stuff, legal forms,
and clip art. Resume samples, wills, mortgage calculators, auto maintenance
records, book reports, term papers, and databases for recipes, baseball
cards and coin collections are just a few of the included templates.
Particularly impressive are the Home Buyers/Owners templates. A series of
templates which includes a checklist for scouting new homes and two
different mortgage calculators including the appropriately named "Mortgage
Masher".
The Mortgage Masher calculates payments for various time periods and
interest rates. A box to enter additional principal payments is also
included and shows how you can save thousands by prepaying your mortgage.
While my brother finds the home inventory template to be useful, I
particularly like the sale of asset template and the home owners templates
Supplied on one disk, HomeWorks is easily installed and consists of
basically empty forms. Fill in the empty fields and your done.
Depending on the printer you use, it may be necessary to modify some of
templates to make them print accurately. The manual states that the forms
are designed to be printed on an Apple LaserWriter. If you use a
Stylewriter or Deskwriter, you might have to move items around slightly to
achieve the results shown on the screen.
The documentation is a bit on the slim side, but only raw beginners will
wish for more.
HomeWorks is a great package for home use. It's cheap, and provides plenty
of ways to make practical use of your Mac investment. HomeWorks is highly
recommended.


The Internet Tour Guide (Book)
288 pgs.
Michael Fraase
Ventana Press
[phone]

The Mac Internet Tour Guide is one of the first books to appear which
addresses using a Mac to access the Internet.
What I really like about this book is the lack of fluff. The information is
provided in clear, concise writing that  makes the book easy to read and
understand. Beginners may wish for a bit more hand holding, though if
you're at all familiar with the Internet, you'll feel right at home.
The layout of the book also deserves high praise. There are plenty of
charts and lists that are truly helpful and arranged in a way that makes
references easy. I often refer to the chart of Mac ftp sites when searching
for files.
The book does come with a disk, though it only contains Eudora, Stuffit
Expander, and Fetch.
On the downside, you won't find much info regarding Unix commands. The
primary focus is on using widely available shareware and freeware to access
the Net with a Mac interface.
Overall, it's definitely worth reading, and a must have for the true
telecommunications junkie.

New and Thoughts:

Do-It-Yourself Mac Accelerators
Making a Mac faster used to require large sums of money. Now, anyone with a
bit of mechanical skill can accelerate their Mac for under $40! As this is
an important issue, I've enlisted an expert in the field to guide us
through the finer points of DIY acceleration.
The following information comes from Marc Schrier
<[e-mail]> Thanks to Marc for his help!

As you may remember from issue #2, accelerators are appearing on the market
that increase computing speed by driving the Mac processor at a higher
rate. On the street this is referred to as "clock-chipping".
What you may not know is that these accelerators are usually composed of
inexpensive parts that anyone can purchase. This article will give specific
part numbers, sources and instructions for creating your own low-cost
accelerator.
WARNING: Attempting the following procedure will, at the very least, void
your Apple warranty. This procedure could also render your Mac inoperable
and perhaps even turn your Mac into a molten pile of plastic. It's
important that you be fairly handy around electronics, and have experience
soldering. ATTEMPT THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Several people were interested in a summary on what I've learned about
crystal swapping/acceleration, so here goes.
This was initially done on PC's, and then later on Mac's. The first Mac's
were the IIsi's since their architecture was so similar to the IIci it
seemed reasonable to run them at IIci speeds. The basic idea is that there
is a bit of leeway built into these machines and the parts used, that you
can push them closer to their limits. Of course this will void the
warranty, but many people find the 20-40% speed increase worth it.
For the IIsi, 700, 900, and 950 the procedure is all the same. You have to
unsolder the TTL crystal oscillator from the motherboard on the Mac, and
put in a new one. Instead of putting one straight onto the board, it is
nice to use a socket so you can test your individual Mac, and see what the
cutoff is.
I have done this to a few IIsi's, and the highest frequency we could get to
work with out problems was 27.5MHz. Thus a speed increase from 20 to
27.5MHz. The actual crystal is 55MHz i.e. double the frequency. TTL 55MHz
crystal oscillators do exist, but are rare. The thing most people seem to
do is get a CMOS oscillator, and they work just fine. Digi-Key sells a
55MHz CMOS crystal oscillator in a 14 pin package, part #SE1509. At 58.9
and above, there are problems with the floppy drive; I'm not sure if it has
been tested between 55 and 58.9. Get a small heat sink to attach to the
68030 to cool it down. As some people have said, be careful when you put on
the heat sink. Typically you use some heat transfer grease, but the heat
sink can slide off if the mac is moved, and might short something out. The
best thing seems to be to use the heat transfer grease, but also put a
small drop of crazy glue through a hole in the heat sink onto the chip;
this should hold it in place.
For the Quadra 700, you can get 70MHz TTL xtals from Fry's. The 70MHz may
not work, and you may have to back down to 66.6666MHz, the next most common
frequency is Digi-Key part #CTX137.
I have not done a 900 or 950, but the general idea is the same. It is
usually best to add a heat sink, and fan depending on the machine. Fry's
sells nice heat sink/fan combo's. I'm not sure what they cost, and I think
they are more than you need, but it should keep the processor cooler. I
happen to have a JAMECO catalog next to me, and they sell these as well.
Heatsink/fan for 80486 CPU, part #67660. These are 1.75"L X 1.88"W X
0.75"H. And then you need a Y cable from your hard drive power cable to
power the fan and your hard drive. I'm guessing these will fit fine, but I
have not tried one.
The neat thing about this comes into play with the new Mac's. In June '93
Guy Kuo reported the first crystal swap on a Centris 610 to the net. He
soldered a socket directly onto the surface mount crystal oscillator and
disabled the xtal on the board by shorting pins 1 and 2, and then put the
new crystal in the socket and connected all the pins except pin 1, leaving
it free. I wrote to him a few days later about using a surface mount test
clip, and asked his thoughts. He suspected I could not find a reasonable
test clip, but otherwise it would work. A few days later the 3M surface
mount test clip arrived, and the test clip worked perfectly. I was running
my Quadra 800 at 40MHz, with no problems, and 48MHz without the serial
ports. A few days later I got several crystals, and found the highest
frequency on my Quadra 800 to be 42MHz. I tried it at 42.768MHz, and the
serial ports did not work, so the cutoff for my 800 is at 42MHz. If you do
not need your serial ports, 48MHz worked fine for me, and at 50MHz my Mac
was not happy. And thus the removable test clip approach was born.
So with this second approach, you can use a new xtal on a 475, 605, 610,
650, 660AV, 800, and 840AV.
The surface mount crystal itself, is black, has two metal tabs on each of
the longer sides. The tabs are 0.2 inches, or 5mm apart. There should be
writing on it that specifies the frequency:

LC475 12.5 MHz
C610 10 MHz
C650 12.5 MHz
C660AV 12.5 MHz (I think this is it)
Q800 16.667 MHz (maybe 16.6667 MHz)
Q840AV 20 MHz
Q605 12.5 MHz
Q610 12.5 MHz
Q650 16.667 MHz

You do not have to do any soldering on the motherboard itself, just on the
part you clip onto the surface mount crystal oscillator. Thus the clip can
be removed at a later date. Even though there is no sign that you have
voided the warranty on the Mac, you have. As Apple states:

"This warranty does not apply if the product has been damaged by accident,
abuse, misuse, or misapplication; if the product has been modified without
the written permission of Apple; or if any Apple serial number has been
removed or defaced."

So you will need a 3M surface mount test clip. Make sure you get a surface
mount test clip, the regular IC test clips will not work. I used an 8-pin
one in my first clip, and later tried 12 and 14 pin clips. I'd say go with
a 14 or 16; a 16 will line up with the size of the surface mount chip the
nicest, but a 12 works fine. Digi-Key does not have the 12's, but they have
the 14 and 16's.

14 pin, part #923655-14-ND $7.31
16 pin, part #923655-16-ND $7.74

These are the part numbers for the ones with gold leads; you only need 4 of
the 14 or 16 leads, so if you plan to make several, buy some of the alloy
ones, and put the extra gold pins in there.
You will also need a 14 pin IC socket, there are plenty of types. The
machined pin ones are nice because you can pop out the pins that are not
needed to get them out of the way since you only need three pins in the
socket. You can do the same here with gold and tin, and use the extra gold
ones.

Gold pins, part # ED3314 $0.73
Tin pins, part #ED3114 $0.57

You will also need an oscillator, a little wire, soldering iron, and heat
sink depending on the machine.
For 610's I've used a heat sink. HS143-ND is the 0.600 inch one, and is
plenty ($5.16). The 650's and 800's already have a large heat sink, and do
not get too hot at 28MHz and 42MHz respectively. I had an extra fan with my
800, but removed it, and it has been fine. The heat sinks come with the
clips needed to attach them to the chip. Some people have been using the
heat sink/fan combo's. I have not, but they seem to work fine as well.

How to put it all together.

Stand the clip so it's jaws are facing down, and the rows of pins go from
left to right, and call the closer row A and the further row B. Number the
pins from left to right 1 through 7 (for the 14 pin clip). Next place the
IC socket with the pins down, and the notch to the left, and number the
pins as 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 in the row closest to you, going left to right. The
other row is numbered 8,9,10,11,12,13,14 as you go right to left (back
towards the notch). For the TTL crystal, place it with the dot to the left
and the pins down and use the same numbering system as the IC socket.
Now starting with the test clip, leave pins in positions A2, A6, B2, and
B6. Next solder a little jumper wire between pins A2 and A6. Now get the 14
pin IC socket, and remove all the pins but 7, 8, and 14. Solder a jumper
wire from pin 7 on the IC socket to the jumpered pins on the clip, either
A2 or A6. Also solder a jumper wire from pin 8 to pin B6, and pin 14 to pin
B2.
Now put the crystal in the socket with pin 1 in 1, 2 in 2, 3 in 3 and 4 in 4.
The surface mount crystal oscillator on the mother board will have a
frequency on it half that of your computer, so a C610 has a 10MHz, and a
Q800 has a 16.6666MHz xtal.
That is it, now you just clamp it on. You may want to clip the spring to
reduce the pressure, and clamp it onto the surface mount crystal oscillator
with the notches all facing the same way and pin 1 in 1, 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4.
And watch to make sure the little pins clamp onto the surface mount chip.
These clips hang on very, very well, I've never had mine move in the last 6
months, nor any of the other ones I've done. In the C610 and C650's it is
vertical, and in the Q800's it's horizontal, but it hangs on fine.
To test it out, the best thing to do is just use it a while. You can run
Speedometer to see the changes. I use Snooper with the dongle to check the
serial ports to find their limits; Snooper also tells you what frequency
you are running at in round numbers.
Your computer may work with a faster crystal, but you may have problems
with the serial ports or memory.

This is what I seem to be finding:
C610 max at 28MHz i.e. 14MHz xtal
C650 max at 28.63636MHz
C800 max at 42MHz

Jonathan Jacobs reported a C650 working fine with a 14.75MHz xtal Digi-Key
part #X127, and that the normal 3M IC test clips work fine; 8-pin clip,
Digi-Key part #923690-08-ND ($5.00).

The Crystals I have are:
12.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $3.75 @ Fry's
14.0    $2.99 @ Fry's
14.31818    $3.44 @ Digi-Key
16.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
18.0 Inductive
18.432    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $2.99 @ Fry's
19.6608    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $2.99 @ Fry's
20.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
21.0
21.384    $3.50 @ Electronics Etc.
22.0
22.0320
22.5
23.892
24.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
25.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
25.1750    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $2.99 @ Fry's
28.322    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $2.19 @ Fry's
40.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
50.0    $3.44 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
55.0 (CMOS)    $3.60 @ Digi-Key
55.0    $4.00 @ Electronics Etc.
58.90
66.6666    $4.70 @ Digi-Key    $4.46 @ Newark
70.0    $6.49 @ Fry's

Address' for parts suppliers:

Fry's Electronics
340 Portage Ave
Palo Alto, CA
[phone]

Electronics Etc.
2738 10th
Berkeley CA
[phone]

Digi-Key
[phone]

Newark
15 Crow Canyon Court
San Ramon, CA 94583
[phone]

JAMECO Electronic Components
1355 Shoreway Road
Belmont, CA 94002-4100
[phone]

You can have crystals custom made, but it takes a while, and would be best
to do in large quantities The best thing is to shop around, I have not had
any of these custom made.
If you have gotten a C610, C650, or Q800 to go any faster **and** the
serial ports still work, please let me know.

Marc Schrier
[e-mail].

Since this article first appeared on the Net in abbreviated form, a few
issues have arisen to which Marc has graciously responded:
There has been some discussion in comp.sys.mac.hardware and private about
regular 3M IC test clips. This person feels that the regular 3M test clips
are better. I have not tried one since I cannot find one around here, but I
know the surface mount ones work well, these are surface mount chips, so
they should be better, and he is the only person to say he had problems
with the surface mount clip, and that the regular one worked fine.
Those wanting more info should keep an eye on comp.sys.mac.hardware for
info on new machines, and to post questions there if they have them.
Oh, one recent question was what I do with the socket. I usually just let
it hang, so use short wires so it does not touch anything. I also use black
electrical tape to tape it to the test clip.

Some of the Mac's come with a heat sink already installed. In that case a
larger one might be nice, but is probably not essential. On the 610 there
is no heat sink when it comes from Apple. The heat sink in a Quadra 800 has
metal clips which look very easy to use. If you buy a heat sink from
Digi-Key, it comes with different clips. They are a bit of a pain too use.
After a while you will eventually figure them out. They seem to slide on
from the side. Sometimes they will fall off when almost half way on. Just
keep at it, and it will work.
Please contact Marc if you have any questions or comments regarding the
above procedure.

Claris CAD is Dead!

As of October 1, Claris officially pulled the plug on Claris Cad. Claris
will continue to offer full  technical support for Claris CAD for one year
through September 30, 1994. How many users this will affect and to what
degree is unknown. Fortunately, Ashlar is offering an upgrade program for
Claris CAD owners:

Upgrade pricing and ordering

Ashlar has priced upgrades from Claris CAD to Ashlar Vellum 2D at $399 per
copy (U.S.).  Upgrades to Ashlar Vellum 3D are $499 per copy.  The usual
per copy prices for Ashlar Vellum 2D and Ashlar Vellum 3D are $2,495 and
$2,995, respectively.  Upgrade packages can be ordered for either Macintosh
or Windows platforms.  Claris CAD users interested in finding out more
about the product and upgrading to Ashlar Vellum can call Ashlar at (800)
877-2745.

I've never used either of these programs, but the upgrade offer certainly
seems like a good deal judging by the retail price of the programs.

The Houdini Mac

On November 15, Apple unveiled what many are calling the strangest
Macintosh yet. The Macintosh Quadra 610, DOS Compatible (that's the
official name!) appears to be a Quadra 610 (no FPU) with the addition of a
Intel 486SX.
The computer comes with DOS 6.2 installed and both computing environments
share the same hard disk. At the touch of two keys, users will be able to
switch from the Macintosh computer environment to DOS and back again.
Apple expects the The Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS Compatible to cost about
$500 more than the standard Quadra 610.
 A DOS Compatibility Card is being planned for Quadra/Centris 610 owners to
upgrade for less than $500.
The Commodore Amiga offered this several years ago in the form of a
bridgeboard. Initially sales were sparse, but as the price came down, it
proved to be a fairly hot seller.

Sounds goofy to me...

Quadra 610, DOS Compatible comes bundled with Microsoft's MS-DOS 6,
availability target is the first quarter of 1994.

CONFIGURATIONS (Not all configurations to be available in the United States)
Quadra 610, DOS Compatible 8/160 HD
Quadra 610, DOS Compatible 8/160 HD w/ Ethernet
Quadra 610, DOS Compatible 8/230 HD w/ Ethernet, Motorola FPU & CD

Error in the Apple Catalog?

There is an error in The Apple Catalog, Fall 1993 Edition. On page 55,
Apple advertises Apple Comfort Kits. The kit includes a wrist rest, a mouse
pad  and a mouse condom. The Apple Catalog reads, "the mouse cover
maintains constant  metatarsal elevation and offers an exceedingly soft
touch."
Metatarsal refers to bones located in the foot, not the hand!
What they probably meant to say was "metacarpal", which is part of the hand.

The Rumor Mill:

Paul Allen, the number two man at Microsoft and owner of the Portland
Trailblazers, has invested $17.5 million (US) in a little known company
named Metricom. Metricom provides fast network connections across
unregulated radio waves. Why is this interesting? First, anything that this
guy touches turns to gold (well, except for the Porsche 959 he tried to
bring into the country), so it could be a great investment in the future.
Second, this could be the first really cheap way to get wireless Internet
access on a handheld device. Stay tuned.

Apple will license the Mac os to Fuji for use in the FM Towns computer
system sold only in Japan.

Development on the pen based Duo system has come to a halt. No further
development is expected until the handwriting recognition system is
perfected.

The BlackBird series of laptop Macs is done. The specs are finalized and
production is ramping up for a early spring '94 release.

At least one high-profile accelerator card manufacturer is planning a
PowerPC upgrade for the Quadra 605 series of Macs, and get this, maybe even
the IIsi!

Was Sculley fired from Apple? Some say "yes". Regarded as too much of a
visionary and not much of a corporate money maker, Sculley came under fire
from the board of directors who demanded that Apple become competitive NOW!
Apple has finalized Mr. Sculley's severance package, which is rumored to
include a Lear 55 jet, $2 million cash, undisclosed stock options, and
finally, paying the balance of his mortgage!

What was a billion dollar backlog of unfilled Mac orders a year ago, has
turned into a $500 million overstock.

Why would a multi-miliion dollar computer company put a beige CD-ROM drive
in a black computer?

Future Newtons on hold? Sources indicate that the next generation Newtons
may be delayed until all the bugs are squashed and more software is
available.

Questions and Answers:
All question come from actual readers via E-mail. If you have a question
feel free to send it in. No guarantees are made that it will be answered,
but Datamike, your online friend, will try!

Winning the lottery with your Mac
Q: Could you review the lottery programs for the Mac?

A: No, you won't find a review of any lottery program here, mainly because
they don't work. Period.
It's absolutely impossible to increase your chances of winning the lottery
by using a computer program. Lottery numbers are picked at random,
therefore one set of numbers is as good as any other, though some will find
this hard to believe.
Here's an illustration: say your state has a weekly lottery which is a pick
6 out of 54. To win you need to correctly match the six numbers. No matter
what method you use to select these numbers the chance of any set of six
numbers being correct is the same.
Look at these two sets: 2,13,26,33,38,52 and 1,2,3,4,5,6.
Which one has a greater chance of winning? Give yourself a pat on the back
if you said they both have the same chance. Many people will find this hard
to believe, but it is true.
The tables of winning numbers that are sometimes printed in newspapers are
also a joke. Remember this: any number between 1 and 54 has the same chance
of being picked as any other number. Even if number 14 has been picked 12
weeks in a row, doesn't mean that it has a greater, or less, chance of
coming up again.
Basically, since every set of six numbers has the same chance of winning,
there is no way of increasing your chances of winning the Lotto, aside from
buying more tickets.
There is, however, a way to increase the amount you win if you do happen to
hit the big one. It's called wheeling, and this is what most lottery
programs feature. This is a method in which more numbers than are needed
are selected, for instance 8, and every six number combination out of these
eight numbers is played. If one of these combinations has all six numbers
right (grand prize winner) there will also be at least one second prize
ticket and several third prize tickets. It's mathematically possible that
every single ticket could be a winner, greatly increasing your take. Also,
second and third prizes are not spread over 20 years, the whole amount is
paid at once. Wheeling eight numbers results in 28 combinations. In
Illinois where you get two games for $1.00, wheeling eight numbers will
cost $14.00.
If you're interested in wheeling numbers, a lottery program might be
useful, but there is no way ANY program will increase your chances of
winning.

Hot Files:

FlashIt!
Shareware $15
Nobu Toge
P.O. Box 7114
Menlo Park, CA 94026, U.S.A.

Flash-It is a screen-capture utility which takes the place of the standard
Apple F-key shift-Apple-3. FlashIt! offers many features including:

Capture a portion of, or the entire monitor screen image to the Clipboard,
or to a file.
Send the image directly to a printer.
The screen capturing works whether the monitor is in black-and-white or
color modes.
It works even while pull-down / pop-up menus are being displayed.
It can record the pointer (also called "cursor" or "arrow") image when
capturing the screen.   Color pointers are supported, too.
It can scale up/down the captured image in the range 5 - 3200 % in 5 % steps.
It can specify the final image destination on the fly.
Support Apple Extend Keyboards.  HotKeys can include PF keys and keypad keys.
Support multiple-monitor environments.
You can specify the document creator for saving the clipboard picture to a
disk file.
Option to capture only the front-most window (or alert / dialog box).

The ability to capture screen shots with menus pulled down is a great
feature if you're trying to illustrate a document with screen images.
If you find yourself frequently taking screen shots with the standard Apple
F-key, do yourself a favor and get a copy of FlashIt!, you'll never want to
go back.

Coming Soon

Reviews of:
Ready, Set, Go! 6.0
Infini-D 2.6
Quicken 4.0
Now Fun
Virtus VR
Nisus 3.4L
Virtus Walkthrough Pro
Hi! Finance
And more...

Coming Next Issue:
Review of QuicKeys 3.0
Color It! deal and review
A report from the Apple Auction in Chicago
New info on the Quadra 605
BlackBird Specs
PowerPC Upgrades from Apple and Daystar

And the usual columns: Rumor Mill, Questions and Answers, Misc. Thoughts,
Hot Files and more...