Info-Mac 3/Info_Mac_1994-01.iso/Periodical/TidBITs/TidBITS#203

Internet Message Format | 1993-12-31 | 30KB

From: [e-mail] (Adam C. Engst)
Subject: TidBITS#203/22-Nov-93
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 93 22:47:44 PDT

TidBITS#203/22-Nov-93
=====================

More details on Macintosh TV, Sculley's rough ride ahead, and the
   Expanded Book version of The Digital Nomad's Guide grace this
   week's MailBITS. Jeff Needleman reports on the rates for the
   Prodigy Internet gateway (no Mac software yet), Charlie Stross
   reviews a Newton competitor from Britain, Mark Anbinder goes
   On The Road, Tonya reviews the Bucky, and I cover Hypertext
   '93 with a look at a course called Designing Electronic
   Publications.

This issue of TidBITS sponsored in part by:
* APS Technologies -- 800/443-4199 -- [e-mail]
   New lower prices on Seagate hard drives in SR 2000 cases.
   For APS price lists, email: [e-mail] <----- New!

Copyright 1990-1993 Adam & Tonya Engst. Details at end of issue.
   Automated info: <[e-mail]> Comments: <[e-mail]>
   --------------------------------------------------------------

Topics:
    MailBITS/22-Nov-93
    Prodigy Internet Rate Update
    Soft Support
    Made For Each Other
    A PDA For The Rest Of Us?
    Hypertext '93
    Reviews/22-Nov-93

[Archived as /info-mac/per/tb/tidbits-203.etx; 30K]


MailBITS/22-Nov-93
------------------
  Recently, we've noticed a significant increase in the number of
  electronic publications available, and we welcome them to the
  nets. We recommend that electronic publishers take full advantage
  of the electronic environment. Don't devote yourself to imitating
  the look and feel of a paper publication - what works on paper
  often fails miserably on screen, and vice versa. Electronic
  publishing is a new medium, and it has new rules. As space permits
  in the future, we plan to investigate issues surrounding
  electronic publishing and what they mean for the future of
  publishing.


**Macintosh TV Redux** -- Pythaeus comments that the major feature
  I forgot to mention in last week's article on Macintosh TV is that
  the entire unit is completely black, other than the Apple Platinum
  dust door on the CD player. The infrared remote can boot and shut
  down the Mac as well as control the TV and the CD, but you must
  change TV image settings from the keyboard. The 8 MB RAM barrier,
  as with the 10 MB barrier on the LC and LC II, is due to an el-
  cheapo memory controller. We also hear from Pythaeus that
  Macintosh TV is a one-shot deal, although future Macs may include
  a new "video slot" that accommodates a TV tuner for Macintosh
  TV-type capabilities or a card for video I/O.


**Martin Fenner** <[e-mail]> writes:
  I have both the book and disk versions of PowerBook: The Digital
  Nomad's Guide (discussed in TidBITS #201_). The disk version is
  based on Voyager's Expanded Book concept, about which many people
  have mixed feelings. The Expanded Book idea is useful for a
  technical Macintosh book in comparison to a novel, because here
  the hypertext links make more sense (you can click on most
  everything, especially the index). I also like the idea of having
  a reference book online. The big drawback is that these books are
  based on HyperCard, so The Digital Nomad's Guide consumes close to
  2 MB of disk space and needs a lot of RAM. Even worse, the hard
  disk spins constantly, drawing battery power and making noise.
  [Some might argue with the statement about hypertext links not
  making as much sense in fiction; it's nice to see mass-market
  technical books joining the increasing number of hypertext
  fictions from Eastgate Systems. -Adam]


**Dieter Hirschmann** <[e-mail]> writes:
  Spectrum Information Technologies, John Sculley's new company,
  might have some rough times ahead of it (see TidBITS #199_ for
  more information). Some people think that the U.S. will eventually
  adopt the GSM system, a cellular radio-telephony network with
  digital transmission of speech, computer data, and signaling
  information. GSM was designed in France, is based on ISDN
  architecture, and has been in use for a year and a half in a dozen
  European countries.

  Within the next few years, approximately 50 other countries -
  including Russia - will introduce GSM. Also, Motorola's satellite-
  telephony system, which is based on GSM, will be operational by
  the end of the decade. Thus, it seems likely that U.S. telephone
  companies will move in this direction soon, replacing their old
  analog cellular phone networks with digital technology. The latter
  allows 100 percent error-free data communications like faxing,
  file transfer, and Internet communications by transmitting
  digital, quadrature-modulated signals. In GSM, Spectrum's error-
  correction products are as unnecessary as white out with MacWrite
  Pro.


Prodigy Internet Rate Update
----------------------------
  by Jeffrey L. Needleman -- [e-mail]

  Prodigy released the Mail Manager DOS software to all its members
  last week. It costs $4.95 to download the software. There are no
  versions as yet for Mac or Windows. To send Prodigy messages or to
  send or RECEIVE Internet messages, the fee is 10 cents ($0.10) for
  each 6,000 character block, with a maximum length per message of
  60,000 characters. (In the beta testing, fees were 15 cents per
  block of 3,000 characters, so prices were lowered considerably for
  the public release.) All Mail Manager fees apply per recipient, so
  a message distributed to a dozen people would be charged a dozen
  times.

  Binary file transfer fees within Prodigy are charged at the same
  rate, with a maximum length of one megabyte per file. That's much
  better than the 250K limit of the beta test. Prodigy says, "File
  transfer via the Internet is not available at this time." You can
  also send faxes ($1.25 per page of about 3,000 characters, maximum
  length 20 pages) or USPS letters ($1.50 each letter, with a
  maximum length of four pages [about 12,000 characters]).

  What about Macs? The information Prodigy supplies about Macs is
  incorrect in a few ways. The online info says, for example, the
  following: "Mac users can receive files sent to them with Mail
  Manager. These files will be received as text files and may
  require some conversion." Not true - binary files are received
  fine at Macs; they just arrive without the resource fork; the
  MacBinary format was developed years ago to handle such foreign
  transfers. I told the software developers months ago that Mac
  files could be converted to files without resource forks (like
  text files or MacBinary files) and transferred fine with their
  software; apparently, only part of that message was understood.

  I'm now talking to the developers and have had some success in
  getting things straightened out. They really seemed to like it
  when I recommended ZipIt 1.2 as a $10 shareware utility for
  handling Mac to MacBinary and vice versa manipulations. "It's
  compatible with PKUNZIP 2.04G!" I said. They were suitably
  impressed.


Soft Support
------------
  by Tonya Engst, TidBITS Editor -- [e-mail]

  A few months ago, I had the good fortune to acquire a Bucky to use
  in my daily computing. "What's a Bucky?" you may ask. A Bucky
  replaces your antiseptic neoprene keyboard wrist pad with a soft,
  sweet-smelling, bean bag wrist pad. Actually, the Bucky is filled
  with buckwheat hulls, which for those of us who grew up in a rural
  area, make the Bucky smell like a summer field. (Evidently, the
  hulls are commonly used for filling Japanese pillows, and the
  company does sell similarly-manufactured travel pillows.) The
  outside is polar fleece, a colorful, soft material often used to
  make lightweight jackets. The Bucky ends up a refreshing cross
  between a business-like wrist pad and a comforting teddy bear. My
  Bucky came a bit over-stuffed, but its makers, Bucky Products,
  anticipated that and provided a zipper for the somewhat messy
  removal of extra hulls.

  I use the Bucky at work where I help an average of thirty callers
  per day with their computer dilemmas. In other words, I have one
  of those stressful jobs where people occasionally lose their data
  and I can't do anything about it except mutter sympathetically. I
  also have tendonitis problems that flare up now and again. So,
  when I'm helping a person with a difficult problem, I can rest my
  wrists on that soft, cushy pad, pick it up and squish it around,
  or inhale a reassuring sniff of country. We're definitely talking
  warm and fuzzy here.

  I rotate the Bucky with my Silicon Sports Puzzle Pad (see TidBITS
  #134_) about every two weeks. I can't say that the Bucky fixes
  tendonitis problems, cures cancer, or prevents global warming, but
  it definitely reduces stress and makes the day more fun, which is
  an admirable achievement in its own right. The Bucky sells for
  about $23 (plus $2.50 shipping in the U.S.; overseas costs vary by
  location) and is available in some stores or directly from Bucky
  Products. Bucky also sells a shorter version of the wrist pad for
  use with a mouse, and given the difficulty of keeping one's wrist
  straight while using a mouse, I imagine the mouse wrist pad ($16)
  would be equally as useful. Highly recommended, especially if you
  don't already use a good wrist pad.

    Bucky Products -- 800/MY-BUCKY -- 206/545-8790
      206/545-0729 (fax)


Made For Each Other
-------------------
  by Mark H. Anbinder, News Editor -- [e-mail]
     Technical Support Coordinator, BAKA Computers

  With the demise of Norton Essentials for PowerBook, CPU clearly
  owns the title for the most full-featured PowerBook utilities
  package. Not content with that knowledge, Connectix has
  significantly enhanced CPU's already hefty feature set with the
  addition of On The Road, a separate but complementary package.

  Released this past January by Palomar Software, On The Road is an
  innovative package that automatically determines a PowerBook's
  location on wakeup or startup, and accordingly, automatically
  selects a printer at that location, mounts file server volumes,
  and enables or disables faxing. When a printer isn't available, it
  defers new print jobs until one is available (and the jobs are
  then printed), and it similarly puts off faxes until you attach a
  phone line. For owners of the PowerBook 100, 140, 145, and 170, On
  The Road provides the features (and then some) of Apple's
  AutoRemounter Control Panel, which works only on the newer
  PowerBooks.

  As a result, you can print documents regardless of whether a
  printer is nearby, and send faxes with no phone line in sight. The
  actual printing and faxing happen later, again automatically; the
  software remembers a preferred printer for each location and
  selects it for you when you hook up, without the usual trip to the
  Chooser.

  All this is nifty, but now that the program has been linked with
  CPU (and the product has been acquired by Connectix) it really
  shines.

  CPU allows several different sets of configuration options. One
  good approach is to have one set for the office, another for home,
  and another for when you're at neither location. On The Road now
  sports the ability to change sets for you, an operation which
  previously could only be performed manually. Duo owners who have
  significantly different environments when on the road and when
  docked will appreciate this feature.

  A single program combining all the features of both On The Road
  and CPU would be wonderful, and we wouldn't be surprised to see
  such an application in the future. For now, though, the
  combination works marvelously. Have one? Buy the other. Have
  neither? Buy both! Each costs $99, but owners of either may now
  purchase the other from Connectix for $29.95.

  You can also buy On The Road online for $39. Add $4 for shipping
  in North America, $10 for international orders (for one or more),
  and if you're in California, add 8.5 percent sales tax. To order,
  send your name, organization, street address, city, state, zip,
  and phone number; email address, credit card type (Visa,
  MasterCard, or American Express), number, and expiration date to
  Connectix at an electronic address below.

  Joel West, president of Palomar, explained that the company
  decided to focus on printing technologies (the core of their
  business), and "When we evaluated all alternatives, we felt that
  On The Road and its customers would be best served by Connectix,
  the clear leader in PowerBook utilities."

    Connectix -- 800/950-5880 -- 415/571-5100 -- 415/571-5195 (fax)
      [e-mail] -- [e-mail]

  Information from:
    Connectix propaganda


A PDA For The Rest Of Us?
-------------------------
  by Charlie Stross -- [e-mail]

  Now the smoke's settling and the mirrors have been removed, many
  people are disappointed with the Newton. Sure it's a great idea
  and the start of something important, but the killer applications
  have yet to appear. It's also too expensive to fit the pocket-book
  budget - at least if you live in the U.K.

  However, there's at least one alternative that might be worth a
  look if you're not afraid of a palmtop that looks like a computer.
  I'm talking about the Psion Series 3a palmtop. Psion is a British
  company that has been making small palmtops and portables since
  about 1984. Their earlier machines were frequently non-standard,
  over-engineered, and tended to sell to niche markets (like VARs in
  the retail data capture area) - until Psion introduced the Series
  3 in 1991. This was Psion's palmtop for the rest of us. Weighing
  in at six ounces and sized to fit a hip pocket, the Series 3 was
  no larger than a pocket calculator but boasted a built-in suite of
  applications, a multi-tasking operating system, connectivity to PC
  and Macintosh, and a graphical interface. The new Series 3a
  machines look the same from the outside - but are twice as fast,
  have twice the memory, boast twice the screen resolution of the
  Series 3. Finally, they cost half as much as a Newton. The Series
  3 has sold more than a million worldwide, and the 3a's sales
  figures are over 100,000 and climbing faster than the Newtons in
  the U.K.


What does it look like? And what does it do?
  If you haven't seen one, think of a make-up compact. Now stretch
  it until it's just under six inches long, half an inch thick, and
  two inches deep. There's a whizzy articulated hinge at the back
  that serves as a combination keyboard rest (when it's open) and
  battery holder (it runs for 30 hours from two alkaline AA cells).
  The whole unit is finished in an unusual mottled grey finish. When
  you open it up, it looks like a toy laptop - screen in the top
  half, keyboard in the bottom half - except that nobody makes
  laptops six inches wide. The keyboard is a QWERTY-style unit with
  raised buttons; these are smaller than normal keys, but spaced out
  sufficiently that even a clumsy typist (like me) can manage two-
  fingered typing. Other people have reported being able to touch-
  type on the keyboard using all their fingers, although I remain
  skeptical. Above the keyboard, fronting the battery compartment,
  is a row of printed icons. These are touch-sensitive keys that
  invoke the built-in applications. The upper half of the case is
  given over almost entirely to the display.

  The display is a bit-mapped, grayscale, 240 x 600 pixel LCD. It's
  quite legible, even in full daylight, and is one of the best
  non-backlit displays I've ever seen. It's sufficiently clear that
  it's readable in all modes. You can work with it in 30-column
  mode, with clear, large letters; but it can also display text (for
  example, in the word processor) in smaller sizes, down to 23 lines
  by 78 columns. Even the smallest text is perfectly legible in
  daylight; but if you're not happy, there's a "zoom" key that
  enables you to zoom in (or out) in any application.

  Speaking of which, there are several applications built in.
  Indeed, Psion seems to have tried to kill the third-party software
  market by giving the built-in applications so much functionality
  that they do everything a portable user could reasonably demand.
  There's a WYSIWYG word processor that supports a range of features
  including style sheets, and that can export to RTF (Rich Text
  Format - if you have the link kit described below). There's a
  spreadsheet with excellent built-in graphing. There's an amazingly
  comprehensive Personal Information Manager, a fairly usable flat-
  file database, a calculator, speech recorder, alarm clock, and all
  the other stuff you'd expect. There's also an interpreter for OPL
  (Organizer Programming Language), a BASIC-like language that Psion
  palmtops have used for years.


Now for some technical stuff.
  The Series 3 and 3a are based on the NEC V30 microprocessor (a
  low-power CMOS implementation). The Series 3 runs at 4.7 MHz; the
  Series 3a at 9 MHz. The V30 is an enhanced 8086 clone that
  typically works about 30 percent more efficiently than the Intel
  chip it's based on; it also includes hardware support for the full
  Z-80 instruction set. Running on top of this, Psion has written a
  multi-tasking icon-based operating system that is amazingly
  economical in the amount of memory it demands. It dynamically
  allocates memory between the running applications and the built-in
  RAM disk (from the common pool of 256K or 512K that the Series 3a
  comes with). The OS doesn't look quite like anything else - but is
  certainly far easier to use than DOS, and far better suited to
  life in the pocket.

  The expansion capabilities are interesting. Psion for some reason
  refuses to provide PCMCIA support - probably the major failing of
  this machine. Instead, they use proprietary cards; either FLASH or
  battery-backed RAM. These are configured as secondary RAM disks,
  leaving more of the machine's main memory available for software.
  The cards come in a variety of sizes, up to 1 MB (with a 4 MB card
  due to ship early next year), and the machine has room for two. As
  it is, 512K is plenty to work with (although the 256K machine
  should be seen as a minimum usable system).

  The serial interface is external, and an optional extra that in my
  opinion ought to be internal and standard. It consists of a cable
  that fits the Psion's tiny adapter port, and a pod containing
  (among other things) some software in ROM. This consists of a
  terminal emulator, a scripting language, and the Psion MC Link
  protocol. Using the Mac or IBM connectivity kit, MC Link enables
  you to mount the Macintosh's - or PC's - hard disk on the Psion,
  so you can run applications from a directory on the desktop
  machine, or copy files back and forth. The desktop machine's hard
  disk behaves just like a huge, slow RAM disk on the Psion. There's
  also a LapLink-like program for the Mac or PC that enables the
  computer to get and put files on the Psion's RAM disks. Transfer
  speed is limited (9,600 bps on the Series 3, 19,200 bps on the
  Series 3a), but is sufficient (given that the machine only has
  512K to transfer in the first place). The point is, the Series 3a
  can read and write files that are interchangeable with Microsoft
  Word (RTF), can transparently put and get files and folders when
  linked to the desktop machine, and generally behaves well indeed
  in conjunction with a Mac.

  In summary, the Series 3a acts like a miniature laptop. It's not
  quite as friendly to computerphobes as the Newton, but it's the
  latest branch of a ten-year-old series, and the bugs and glitches
  have been pretty much shaken out of it. It's extremely good at
  talking to Macs, to the point where it's compatible at the file
  format level. But its main advantages are its size and weight. I
  have a PowerBook. It seems to weigh a ton after I've been carrying
  it for a couple of hours, and it takes up a lot of room in my
  shoulder bag. In contrast, the Series 3a isn't even noticeable; it
  sits in a pocket and it's there when I need it. Finally, there's
  the price issue. In the U.K., Newtons sell for U.K. pounds 750
  (including tax; about U.S. $1,100). Even in the States you'll find
  it hard to buy one for less than $700. The Series 3a with 512K, in
  contrast, sells for U.K. pounds 330 (inclusive of tax at 17.5
  percent), and a complete kit with MC Link for the Mac costs 400
  pounds (including tax, or U.S. $600). The Newton may be the future
  of portable computing - but the Series 3a is here today, half the
  price, and well worth a look.

  You may also want to check out the newsgroup comp.sys.psion for
  more information. Not all sites may have this group yet, but
  there's also a mailing list at <[e-mail]>.
  And, finally if you search in Gopher's Veronica on "psion" you
  should find a bunch more information, including pointers to FTP
  sites and FAQs.

  [I couldn't easily find a source for the Psion Series 3a in the
  U.S., but I'm sure if you check out the newsgroup or mailing list
  someone will point you to one. -Adam]


Hypertext '93
-------------
  Hypertext. It's a term that causes eyes to glaze over and heads to
  nod dumbly. Most people have heard the term, coined in 1965 by Ted
  Nelson, but few who haven't used it could define it. And there's
  the question if the term is at all accurate any more, or if
  hypertext applications that are not, shall I say, data-format
  challenged (that is, they work with multiple data types), should
  be termed hypermedia.

  Academic and semantic quibbling aside, the basic idea behind
  hypertext is non-linear text, or more commonly, chunks of text
  linked in numerous ways (feel free, as I said, to substitute
  graphics or sounds or video for "text"). The widening range of the
  hypertext field came clear at last week's fifth annual Hypertext
  '93 conference, put on by the Association for Computing Machinery.
  Topics ranged from hypertext help systems to hypertext fiction to
  massive corporate infobases and all the way up to something termed
  a "massively-parallel, immense-scale, widely-distributed,
  international digital library." These people don't think small.

  Perhaps the most interesting meta-conversation of the conference
  came when I was hanging out in the lobby area waiting for a
  session. Several of the conference organizers were talking, and
  mentioned that the courses, for which participants paid fairly big
  bucks, were crammed. In contrast, the "pure" research parts of the
  conference had poorer registration levels. Because of this, future
  conferences will probably better mix the courses and the research
  presentations to encourage users to stick around after the courses
  (this year the courses were all held Sunday and Monday, and a
  significant number of attendees left after Monday's sessions). So
  it goes.


Designing Electronic Publications
  The first interesting course was "Designing Electronic
  Publications: How We Do It," given by Paul Kahn and Krzysztof Lenk
  of Dynamic Designs. Kahn and Lenk discussed the evolution of
  visual methods of presenting information in context to how these
  methods are used in today's graphical environments, concentrating
  of course on hypertext systems. They posited that everything is
  communicated visually by some combination of symbol and
  representation; that is, you must have a symbol, and for the
  communication to be successful, that symbol must represent
  something in the real world, or at least an abstraction the user
  can mentally grasp. With that basis, they went on to discuss
  methods of dealing with limited space - despite 21" monitors, the
  computer screen is always a window to a larger world. Think of it
  as the tyranny of the desktop. Like so many things, however, it
  turns out that the methods we use to present information in that
  limited space reflect traditional methods handling the same
  problems in art. Such methods include using multiple points of
  view (SimEarth, or any multiple window environment with updates in
  each window), raising the physical point of view to look down on a
  larger area (SimCity), using relative size of element to indicate
  relative importance (think of the different sizes of icons
  available in FirstClass), and merely the brute force method of
  cramming information together (compare less-spacious art museums
  of old with a thumbnail view in Aldus Fetch).

  Interestingly, techniques like the vanishing point perspective
  common in the Western tradition are often ineffective in the
  electronic environment. In contrast, Chinese perspective is
  generally flat, and although perhaps less realistic, better
  conveys the same amount of information in limited space. Compare
  SimCity with A-Train for an example of this.

  One of the most intriguing points Kahn made is that the concept of
  multiple windows is by no means new, and has been used in the art
  of various cultures for hundreds of years. With that in mind, the
  current legal wrangling over who owns what sort of graphical look
  and feel seems even more stupid than normal. The parallel with art
  goes a long way, even as far as using the image of a hand as a
  spatial indicator. The hand cursor in HyperCard was probably not
  coincidental.

  Kahn also focused in on the use of text on screen. Although many
  paper-based designs and concepts translate badly to the electronic
  environment, typographical rules about white space, line length,
  and text color (the overall blackness of a text chunk) still
  apply. Kahn found that relatively short (60 characters or so, no
  more than 80, just as on paper) lines work best, with plenty of
  white space on either side of the text and with slightly larger
  than standard leading, say 12 point text on 17 point leading.
  Being unable to control those variables can hurt the visual
  display of on-screen text, and this might contribute to the
  impression that electronic text is somehow less professional than
  printed text.

  After looking at text, Kahn discussed the role of color and icons
  in interface. Colors are often overdone, and he said that he
  usually stuck to no more than two colors, or four when dealing
  with the inherent colors in Windows, for instance. Colors have
  different psychological weights, so using lots of different colors
  constantly distracts the eye. That's undoubtedly one reason Apple
  chose to use subtle spot color in the Macintosh interface, rather
  than the garish full-color look of Windows. Speaking of Windows,
  Kahn went on to condemn the overuse of 3-D in icons and controls.
  Careful use can enhance the interface by visually distinguishing
  elements, but after a point, which Microsoft hit about a year ago,
  3-D controls merely confuse even further. These points apply
  especially to icons, which are also often overused in today's
  graphical interfaces since it's difficult to create icons that
  novices will understand quickly and that experts will be able to
  use effectively every day. A friend once proposed writing an
  article (that he's never written) entitled "The Icon as Haiku."
  Given the proliferation of utterly incomprehensible toolbars (what
  do these people think a menu is for?), I'd love to see more
  thought on when icons are appropriate and ways of creating more
  useful ones.

  Turning finally to hypertext presentation, Kahn looked at various
  different ways of portraying the space - global maps, local maps,
  or hierarchical trees. None of these methods are entirely
  satisfactory, and most current hypertext systems use a combination
  of them. The manner of specifying links, either by color, style,
  or font also seems not entirely satisfactory, and although he
  wouldn't commit to it, Kahn seemed to prefer the use of background
  color to indicate links. When looking at the overall presentation
  of the onscreen information, he reiterated the point I made at the
  beginning of this issue - that paper presentation and electronic
  presentation are two completely different beasts, and must be
  treated as such.

  I obviously cannot hope to completely represent the three-plus
  hours of the talk, but for those who design electronic interfaces,
  and for those who, like me, merely use them, these points are well
  worth considering at length before foisting an ugly and useless
  interface on the world.


Reviews/22-Nov-93
-----------------

* MacWEEK -- 15-Nov-93, Vol. 7, #45
    WordPerfect 3.0 -- pg. 77
    MacTools 3.0 -- pg. 77
    Kodak 450GL Color Printer -- pg. 80
    Aperture 4.0.2 -- pg. 82

* InfoWorld -- 15-Nov-93, Vol. 15, #46
    OptiMem -- pg. 177


$$

 Non-profit, non-commercial publications may reprint articles if
 full credit is given. Others please contact us. We don't guarantee
 accuracy of articles. Caveat lector. Publication, product, and
 company names may be registered trademarks of their companies.

 This text is wrapped as a setext. For more information send email
 with the single word "setext" (no quotes) in the Subject: line to
 <[e-mail]>. A file will be returned shortly.

 For an APS price list, send email to: <[e-mail]>

 For information on TidBITS: how to subscribe to our mailing list,
 where to find back issues, how to search issues on the Internet's
 WAIS, and other useful stuff, send email to: <[e-mail]>
 Otherwise, contact us at: [e-mail] * CIS: 72511,306
 AppleLink & BIX: TidBITS * AOL: Adam Engst * Delphi: Adam_Engst
 TidBITS * 1106 North 31st Street * Renton, WA 98056 USA
 ----------------------------------------------------------------




Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Editor -- [e-mail] -- [e-mail]
Author of The Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh -- [e-mail]