Fanning the Fiery Debate About Disk-level Compression, Avoiding Disaster When Playing Mac Mechanic, and Learning the Basics of Installing Fonts.
Christopher Breen and Bob Levitus
Times Two Two Times
BOB: A reader recently berated us for "trashing" the disk-level-compression software TimesTwo (Help Folder, June '95, page 112). She also gave a solution that we hadn't thought of to help out another reader who was having trouble with TimesTwo 1.0 (he couldn't reformat his drive with this program installed, nor could he remove the program): "Tell him to try to get his hands on TimesTwo 2.0. He can use that to remove TimesTwo 1.0."
CHRIS: Of course, because the maker of TimesTwo, Golden Triangle, went down in flames with nary a word of warning to its customers, version 2.0 is no longer available and cannot be obtained through the normal channels.
BOB: You'll have to beg, borrow, or steal a copy if you need it.
In case you're wondering why we haven't named our helpful, yet embittered, reader, it's because she wants to remain anonymous. You see, I got a second letter from her saying that her hard disk, with TimesTwo 2.0 installed, crashed. She blames the compression program, at least in part, for making her data irretrievable.
CHRIS: If you have had trouble with TimesTwo but you still want to use disk-level-compression software, you can get eDisk, from Alysis (800-825-9747 or 415-928-2895), for just $30. However, it's a lot safer to use file-level compression.
Grounding Rules
Q. I've read that you should be grounded before you try to install memory or perform other surgeries on your Mac. Is grounding necessary even if the Mac is unplugged? If so, how do you properly ground yourself?
Joshua G.
via the Internet
CHRIS: Here in Northern California, we consider a vegetarian diet and daily chanting essential for proper grounding. Rainwater mixed with wheat grass is also . . . .
BOB: Cut it out!
CHRIS: Bob, I'm sensing some hostility here.
BOB: Joshua, ignore that man. You heard right: You should always ground yourself before mucking around inside your Mac. Grounding yourself discharges static electricity, which can be harmful to your Mac's motherboard and internal peripherals such as SIMMs, cache cards, and NuBus cards.
How do you do it? The easiest way to ground yourself is to touch the metal part of your Mac's power supply before beginning surgery (this works only if your Mac is plugged in). You should touch it again every now and then during the procedure, just to be safe.
Another method is to wear a grounding strap around your wrist and attach it to a grounded object. I've never used one and have never damaged a component -- but just because I'm a daredevil doesn't mean you have to be one.
CHRIS: Zapping your components is easier than you think. It takes only 20 volts or so to damage a computer chip. The thrill you feel when you scrape across a carpet and touch a doorknob is 175 times stronger than this charge. Therefore, I present Chris' Grounding Ground Rules:
1. Always wear a grounding strap when you open your Mac, and if
possible, attach the strap to the earth ground of an AC outlet
(the screw that holds in the face plate). Barring this, attach
it to the Mac's chassis.
2. Never attach a grounding strap to the inside of a monitor or
to the inside of a Mac that has a built-in monitor. Monitors
carry serious voltage, and without much effort, you could fry
yourself like a piece of bacon.
3. If you can't use a grounding strap and insist on dissipating
static electricity by touching the Mac's power supply or
chassis, make sure you touch these objects fairly often. And
don't take a break to comb your hair or recreate the twist scene
from Pulp Fiction on your bedroom carpet -- these actions are
sources of static buildup. If you can avoid working in a
carpeted room altogether, great.
4. When you handle circuit boards or SIMMs, hold them by the
edges and not by the components.
Font Facts
Q. Where should I put my printer fonts if I have a Power Mac 7100 but no printer? (Please don't use my real name.)
Clueless in Seattle
BOB: Well, Clueless, this one's simple. If you're running System 7 or later (which you most assuredly are, since all Power Macs require it), all you have to do to install a font is to drag it onto the System Folder icon. Presto. It's installed -- properly -- regardless of whether it's a TrueType or a PostScript font.
The difference between TrueType and PostScript fonts is a subject that could fill several pages. The biggest distinction is that TrueType fonts come in a single suitcase; PostScript fonts come in two pieces, a suitcase (which contains the screen font) and a printer font.
So, if you're installing a PostScript font, drag both pieces onto the closed System Folder; if you're installing a TrueType font, all you need to worry about is one piece.
CHRIS: Since we're speaking to a member of the clue-impaired, I should also mention that even though you don't have a printer, there is a darned good reason to hang on to your printer fonts. It's called ATM (Adobe Type Manager). If you're running ATM and don't have the printer fonts installed, any PostScript text will take on some of the less attractive characteristics of an Aztec pyramid (see figure 1).
BOB: Good point. ATM requires printer fonts even if there isn't a printer within miles of your Mac.
DOS Tactics
Q. Do you foresee any problems if I dedicate my Power Mac's external drive solely to DOS and use a DOS compression program to do it? I've installed the DOS Compatibility Card. My internal drive has Mac and DOS partitions.
John Elkmann
via America Online
CHRIS: Making the external drive DOS-only is no problem. You can put DOS in a container on a Mac-formatted drive or simply format the entire external drive as a DOS C: drive. But I won't guarantee that the DOS compression software will work. Just because there's an Intel chip stuck to the DOS Compatibility Card doesn't mean that you have a true-blue DOS computer lurking inside your now tainted Mac. Sure, it will work quite nicely with many DOS and Windows applications -- I hear that DOOM runs just swell -- but will fall on its tiny silicon face with some others. Try before you buy, or make double-sure that a money-back guarantee from your software retailer is in full effect before dishing out your simoleons.
After Dark Desires
Q. I had to turn off After Dark (2.0y), because it conflicts with the Japanese Language Kit extension. Will not using a screen saver significantly shorten the life of my monitor?
Seiji M.
via the Internet
CHRIS: I've changed my tune in the four years since I wrote "After Dark . . . is one of the more beautiful and whimsical solutions to the problem of screen burn-in" (Quick Clicks, October '91, page 87). After Dark is still just as beautiful and whimsical as it ever was, but I'm no longer convinced that screen burn-in is a problem on modern monitors.
If you absolutely can't live without After Dark -- and I know there are innumerable treksters out there who just can't get through the day without listening to Leonard Nimoy yodel that awful little ballad from the Star Trek collection -- you have a couple of options. Version 2.0z fixes the problem you're experiencing, as well as some other conflicts, and can be obtained for free from Berkeley Systems (800-344-5541 or 510-540-5535). Or if you want to go whole hog, you can upgrade to version 3.0b for about $20, including shipping.
On the other hand, if you're still concerned about burn-in but can get by without this bit of fluff, use the brightness and contrast knobs on your monitor to dim the screen if you intend to be away from your desk for an extended period.
BOB: I love After Dark, but I don't like running any more control panels or extensions than are absolutely necessary. So I switched to Tom Dowdy's freeware screen-saver application, Darkside of the Mac. Because it's an application, it rarely conflicts with anything. And it runs most After Dark modules -- all but the Star Trek ones.
Screen Cleaning
Q. What's the best way to regularly clean my PowerBook screen?
C. Pencer
via CompuServe
BOB: I use Klear Screen spray and Klear Kloths, which I order from APS (800-947-8599 or 816-483-1600). Using a mild glass cleaner and a soft cloth is sanctioned by Apple and is definitely less expensive than my approach. But hey, my monitor and PowerBook screen are expensive optical components, so I use nothing but the best on them.
Sixteen bucks gets you a huge bottle of the Klear Screen spray and six soft cloths designed specifically for cleaning optical-grade plastic and glass without scratching it. You can also use it on laserdiscs and CDs. I can play my Matthew Sweet 100% Fun CD again!
CHRIS: As you may have noticed during my tenure here at Help Folder, I tend to be attracted to penurious solutions. Now if I wanted to simply demonstrate a healthy thriftiness, I'd recommend Radio Shack's $3.99 Anti-Static Spray Cleaner (part number 64-3310). But for that real cheapskate thrill, I do -- quite literally -- have another solution.
Around the Breen maison, we simply make up a batch of a solution we call Juice. Here's the formula: one part denatured alcohol plus five parts distilled water.
The alcohol works as a light solvent, and because it evaporates, no soapy film is left behind. Just slosh it into a spray bottle, and when you're ready to desmudge anything from a favorite Edith Piaf LP to a computer screen, spray a small amount on a soft cloth -- a hunk of your old flannel jammies will work just fine -- and wipe les lapins de la poussiere away.
BOB: That's "rabbits of the powder," for those of you who need a hint.
CHRIS: I should emphasize that you do not want to spray this stuff -- or anything else -- directly onto your computer screen or PowerBook. No, it won't eat a hole in the surface, but the last thing you need is water and alcohol cascading into the innards of your hardware.
The Service-Bureau Search
Q. How do I find a service bureau? More specifically, I need one that can handle files on SyQuest cartridges and has a 600-dpi printer. I've called printers, dealers, and service reps, but nobody knows how to find this thing called a service bureau.
Ouida Wolfgang
Warminster, PA
CHRIS: It depends on where you live, of course. Because Bob and I reside in areas where the roads are virtually paved with silicon wafers, we can walk downtown, randomly fling a brick, and have a darned good chance of hitting one of these establishments. You may have a bit more trouble in Bucks county.
BOB: Probably the best and safest way to find a reliable, reasonably priced service bureau is to ask for recommendations from a local user group or BBS. If that's not a possibility, you should be able to find one on your own. They're all over the place if you know where to look -- try under Typesetting in the Yellow Pages.
CHRIS: While you're browsing through the Yellow Pages, take a gander under the Printers heading too.
BOB: They're listed under Typesetting and Printers because most service bureaus have typesetting as their main business, although more and more are specializing in color output.
One warning: Shop around, because prices can vary wildly. What one shop will sell you for $60 may cost you only $30 at another.
Floppy Fans
Q. My systems coordinator is continually swearing up and down that we should never use floppy disks for anything but backup and transportation. He warns over and over that we should store a copy of all our data on a hard disk. In his latest rampage, he said that the fans in the Mac "automatically" deposit dust on the first disk you insert in the floppy drive and that this dust will inevitably destroy data.
Does this guy have a valid point, or is the only point on the top of his head? I'd like to show our staff the real scoop in writing.
Eugenia Dayo
Anchorage, AK
BOB: Show this to the pinhead: Bob says, "Calm yourself. Millions of people have used hundreds of millions of floppies successfully. If they had all lost data, you would have heard the screaming from around the globe, all the way back to Alaska. Furthermore, to blame data loss on the Mac's fan design does its generally excellent engineering a disservice."
CHRIS: And tell him Chris says, "Floppies can be more reliable than hard drives. I'm using a couple of old Jasmine drives, which failed me years ago, to shore up the southwestern corner of my house, yet I'm able to this day to play an ancient copy of Lunar Rescue from its original floppy."
However, I will admit that on some older Macs -- specifically the IIci and the IIcx -- the fan sucks air directly through the floppy-insert slot, causing dust to coat not only floppy disks you insert but also the floppy-drive innards. If you have one of those Macs, all you have to do is cover the slot after you've inserted a disk -- a Post-it works fine as a slot cover.
BOB: On the other hand, old pointy has a valid point -- data stored on floppies will someday be lost. The big question is, When? All media -- magnetic disks, magnetic tape, optical discs, whatever -- has a limited life expectancy. Anything you store on any kind of media will someday die. But most media, floppies included, should last years before failing.
Anything worth saving should be saved multiple times, preferably on multiple media -- say, one copy on floppy, another on tape, and yet a third on your hard disk.
Bob LeVitus is the director of evangelism for Power Computing. Christopher Breen hasn't been able to weasel a new Mac clone out of Bob.
You can find the shareware and freeware programs referenced in this article in the MacUser and ZiffNet/Mac areas on CompuServe and eWorld. See How to Reach Us for instructions on accessing ZiffNet/Mac.
Tips / Utilities
Animating After Dark
Here's a way to make After Dark's PICS Player module play several PICS files in succession, rather than the same PICS file over and over: Make several duplicates of the original PICS Player module (in the After Dark folder), and name the duplicates something like PICS Player #2, PICS Player #3, and so on. Open After Dark, open each PICS Player module, and configure each one to play a different PICS file. Select the Randomizer module, and load your PICS Player module and duplicates. Then watch as After Dark randomly plays your collection.
Stephen E. Snider
San Diego, CA
Conflict Catcher Catch-up
Owners of Conflict Catcher II can add printer drivers to the list of items they can switch on and off (a feature in Conflict Catcher 3), using ResEdit. Working on a copy of the Conflict Catcher control panel, open the TYPS resource and double-click on the resource called No INIT Required. To add printer drivers to Conflict Catcher's list, simply type PRER -- case is important -- after the last line of text, which should be appefext. Save your changes, and restart. The next time you examine your Conflict Catcher list, you will see all your printer drivers.
Jeffrey Robbin, Conflict Catcher's creator
Casady & Greene
Mactools Trash Collector
The TrashBack component of Symantec's MacTools provides several ways to delete TrashBack files (files you've trashed that are still on your hard disk). The problem is that no matter which way you delete the files, you must search through TrashBack's hierarchical menu structure for the documents you'd like to remove. Here's another way to view and remove these files:
Restart your Mac with the Shift key down, to disable extensions. Inside the startup volume, you'll find a new folder called TrashBack Protected Files, which holds a mess of folders and files. Simply trash the files you want to lose forever, and restart. The TrashBack list will reflect these changes.
Andrea Okerholm
Sharon, MA
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Don't want to wait for an answer? Post your question on ZiffNet/Mac, MacUser's online service, or send e-mail to helpfolder@macuser.com or tips@macuser.com. We pay $25 to $100 for any undocumented tips we publish.
Figure 1 - Plagued by the Jaggies? for Those Running Atm, the Jagged Look Might Be Caused by Not Having Both Parts of a Postscript Font (Right) Installed.
