From: xxltony@crash.cts.com (Tony Lindsey) Subject: Mac*Chat#082/19-Jul-95 Mac*Chat#082/19-Jul-95 ====================== Welcome to Mac*Chat, the free, weekly electronic newsletter biased toward Mac users who are production-oriented professionals. Other Mac users may find many, many items of interest as well. I'd enjoy hearing your feedback and suggestions. Unfortunately, due to the massive numbers of messages I get every day, I can't guarantee a personal reply. Tony Lindsey, . http://www.cts.com/browse/xxltony Mac*Chat back-issues may be found within any Info-Mac ftp archive at info-mac/per/chat See the end of this file for legalisms and info on how to subscribe. Any [comments in brackets] are by Tony Lindsey. Topics: Highlights Of This Issue Editor's Notes Correction From Last Issue What's A Good Quad-Speed CD-ROM Drive? Checkfree Feedback Terryfic Tips - Resolution Solutions Ultimate Mac Sites Timetracker Info Requested Let's Talk About Advertising Letters Concerning Advertising On The Internet Memory Merchants Reviewed Technical Section Starts... Here Sharing Modems Over A Network Legalisms Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter Highlights Of This Issue ------------------------ I mention my newest Web page and current work on Mac*Chat's infrastructure, I ask for some good recommendations for a Quad-Speed CD-ROM drive and speakers, we hear some good news about online banking, Terry Wilson teaches us about scanning for best resolution, more hot new Web sites are mentioned, I ask for someone to send me a personal review of TimeTracker, we continue the (very popular) discussion of online advertising, we get more good news about inexpensive disks, and we learn why the IIfx is such a great modem-sharing Mac. Editor's Notes -------------- By Tony Lindsey I've been spending some time on Mac*Chat's infrastructure: - I'm currently "cleaning up" the formatting on back-issues, making them easier to read. - I'm developing an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file, accessible with a single e-mail message at any time. - We're in the final stages of testing the HTML (Web-readable) version of Mac*Chat. I will be announcing more about this shortly. - I've updated my Web pages slightly, making them adhere a little better to international date standards, and - I have been making tiny tweaks in my pages as people suggest them. I will gladly accept suggestions from anyone who wants to help me make my pages easier to read, or more up-to-date. - I'm thinking of starting up a "Mac*Chat Review Crew" of folks who would be willing to test software and write brief reviews for the newsletter. This idea is still very experimental, so I'd appreciate some suggestions. And, in other news... I mentioned my weight-loss in the last issue, and have heard from dozens of folks who wanted to know more about how I did it. In honor of their requests, I created another Web Page: http://www.cts.com/browse/xxltony/weight-loss.html This page tells how I did it, plus the book I recommend and how to buy it. It also has links to my before-and-after photos, including one scan of a Polaroid shot of me from this last weekend. Damn! I look scrawny (only 226 pounds) compared to the Before picture! Correction From Last Issue -------------------------- By ikbal.javed@mayo.EDU (Javed Ikbal) In the last issue of Mac*Chat, my article of Eudora message filtering was credited to petersse@sce.com (Scott Peterson). [I admit it - I got a little too fancy with the delete key, and I goofed!] What's A Good Quad-Speed CD-ROM Drive? -------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey I've been noticing that quad-speed CD-ROM drives are beginning to become cheaper and more-common. I'm wondering if I can afford one, but I don't know which one to buy. Ideally, I'd like a drive that - Supports Apple's software in every way (even to the point of running AppleCD Audio Player), - Is inexpensive, and - Good quality. - A nice selection of free CD's would be nice, too. As long as I'm wishing and hoping, I'd also like to track down some top-notch, low-cost computer stereo speakers. Most of the free speakers I've seen come with CD drives are just plain crappy. Let's hear some good reviews! Checkfree Feedback ------------------ By Bill.Barhydt@Germany.Sun.COM (Bill Barhydt - Sun Germany SunService IR CEUR - Munich) Here are my views on using Checkfree via Quicken. (Sorry for the long length but I had a lot to say on this topic.) I have been an avid Mac/Quicken/Checkfree user since the beginning of last year while I was living in NYC. Using these tools I feel I have, for the first time, gained a real handle on my finances (what I spend, what I have, what I'm going to have, etc...). I also love the convenience of not actually having to write or mail checks. As an aside this experience has also made me realize how much paper gets wasted in just sending bills to people every month. I would also add that my Checkfree monthly fees of US$ 9.95 were pretty much offset by the stamps that I would have to buy if I were to continue using the USPS directly. However my advantages in using Quicken/Checkfree became enormous when I decided to take a job here in Munich, Germany. Since I am American educated and spent 25 years as an American consumer I have both a considerable amount of school loan related bills as well as credit card bills. After doing some initial investigating I found out that the Checkfree service really uses a Compuserve dial-in meaning that it isn't a problem for me to continue paying my bills in the US electronically from Germany. All I needed to do was get a local Compuserve access number for Munich (no problem since Compuserve is HUGE in Germany) and I was all set. I should also say that I had to keep my US checking account open. The amount of money that I have saved in the first 3 months alone is considerable. On average it would cost me at least US$ 1.50 to mail each bill from the US. Instead I simply have the US$ 9.95 monthly fee taken out of my US Checking account. Here are my recommendations for improving the use of Quicken/Checkfree: 1) Better support for international transactions/currencies. I would like to be able to enter a transaction in any currency and then give the exchange rate to convert to dollars so that I can see transactions in their original currency in my Quicken worksheet. It might even be convenient to be able to make Checkfree payments in different currencies. 2) Make more electronic services available through quicken rather than just bill paying. Here is a short list of examples: a) ability to obtain account balances b) ability to make account transfers by simply providing ABA and account Numbers c) ability to obtain an account history from the bank to reconcile against your quicken worksheet. d) ability to purchase securities through a broker of my choice. I'm not really interested in joining a service provided by just one bank (like Schwab's offering or Chemical Bank's offering). I'm really interested in one service (like Quicken) that could provide me one stop shopping access to any bank/broker/financial service. In my opinion this (electronic financial services via the home) is the greatest frontier in home computing (not video on demand!) Terryfic Tips - Resolution Solutions ------------------------------------ By Terry Wilson Now that the 600 dpi laser printer is becoming standard, many people are pondering their options at the scanner. "If my printer can print at 600, then I should scan at 600, right?" **Yes, maybe...** If you're scanning a black and white piece of art (line art), like a logo. Each dot is either black or white, and if you can scan as high as your printer, then theoretically, your printer will map out the image exactly as the scanner saw it. Make sure you scan on the 'line art' setting, not grayscale. **...and No.** But the answer is a big fat no for photographs and art with shades of gray. Besides creating huge files and taking an eternity to print (if the printer doesn't choke first) such fine resolution is just unnecessary. Laser printers print with solid toner, not shades of gray. (But you knew that.) In order to mimic shades of gray, it has to print variable-sized dots which look like shades of gray at arm's length. Halftone dots lay on a fixed staggered grid. The shade of an area depends as much on the size of the dot as the amount of white space surrounding the dot. We talk about this dot pattern as a 'halftone screen' with so many 'lines per inch (lpi).' **To print a 75 lpi halftone** Because of the limitations of toner particles, laser printers do best printing 60 to 75 lpi halftone screens. (In Quark, set this in the Page Setup dialog.) Printing presses use ink and can go higher; 85 lpi is typical for newspapers, 133 lpi for magazines. In this example, we're using 75 lpi on a 600 dpi printer. So, to output your halftone at 75 lpi, each halftone cell is allotted an 8x8 diamond-shaped cluster (using an area of 64 printer dots) from your 600 dpi printer (600 dpi / 75 lpi = 8 printer dots). Now, each 8x8 halftone cell contains one halftone dot and defines only one shade of gray. So if you had scanned your photo at 600 dpi, you took one sample for each printer dot, or 64 samples for each halftone dot! Averaging 64 to get one value is overkill big time. **Scan at 150 dpi** This doesn't mean you only have to scan at 75 dpi though. If you do that, you might get those tell-tale square artifacts known as pixelization. (If you're short on disk space and have a large image, do a test scan at 75 and print it out. It might be okay.) Better to scan at 1.5-2 times the final lpi. For 75 lpi, that means 112-150 dpi (let's go all the way to 150). This takes 4 samples for each halftone cell, which is plenty. Also, at the higher setting, you can safely enlarge a bit in your page layout software without risking pixelization. **FYI** For color pictures, even if you have a color scanner, scan as grayscale; a color scan may look nice on the screen, but the file is three times as big as a grayscale. If you plan to resize your pictures, you'll have to do a little math so your final resolution is appropriate. Something scaled 50% in Quark can be scanned at 75 dpi. Likewise, something scaled 200% will need to be scanned at 300 to end up at 150. c1994 Terry Wilson --------------------- This article may be reprinted in newsletters published by non-profit user groups, provided an issue of the newsletter in which the article appears is sent to: Terry Wilson, PMUG Dialog editor, 1601 Church Rd., Southampton, NJ 08088 Ultimate Mac Sites ------------------ By pmorgan@morgan-news.com (Peter Morgan, Morgan:Newsletters) Within these wonderful pages you will find the best Macintosh software archives, information, games, and online publications available on the World Wide Web. Regularly updated with the latest links: http://www.freepress.com/myee/ultimate_mac.html Also, the UMich and Info Mac sites are now on the World Wide Web: http://www.msc.wku.edu/Dept/MSC/Macintosh/search_infomac.html [Info-Mac] http://www.msc.wku.edu/Dept/MSC/Macintosh/search_umich.html [UMich] This is the home of "DaveNet" (Dave Winer of Frontier fame). He is a great writer (of both software and prose). It is worth a visit... Timetracker Info Requested -------------------------- By Tony Lindsey In a previous issue, James Martland asked about good "time and billing" programs. Since then, I've heard from TimeTracker's author, who has sent me quite a bit of information. Before I post it, I would like to hear from folks who have actually used this program. The newest version may be found at ftp://ftp.maui.com/pub/mauisw http://www.maui.com/~billm Let's Talk About Advertising ---------------------------- By Tony Lindsey Well, it looks like I pushed a very, very hot button again. In the last issue, I asked for folk's viewpoints on advertising within Mac*Chat. As of this moment, I've received 334 messages on the topic, and I'm sure more are waiting for me as I type this. Most of the messages are sweet, kind messages from folks who want to reassure me that they trust me to do what's right, and I'm thrilled to hear it. It's the biggest group hug I've gotten in my life! I've also received a whole bunch of thoughtful, well-reasoned perspectives concerning advertising on the Internet itself, and how much is tolerable. I'd like to re-post many of these letters, because I consider them to be of utmost importance to many, many of Mac*Chat's readers. Our global society is at the beginning of a major change. If you think we're still going to be excited about diddling with the current style of stuff on the Internet in a year, you are very wrong. There is incredible pressure everywhere on the Internet to make our individual lives simpler, richer and more meaningful. We haven't gotten anywhere near there, yet, but at least we can find things that we can agree upon in the meantime. If you read between the lines in the letters that will follow, you'll gain some incredible insights about the PROPER ways to conduct business on the Internet. Believe me, I know you're thinking about it! I plan to use the next few issues to continue this discussion. Letters Concerning Advertising On The Internet ---------------------------------------------- By Andrew.Cohill@bev.net (Andrew Michael Cohill) We are all struggling with how to make money on the net without "breaking the rules" and without selling our souls. Indeed, a lot of us gravitated toward the net years ago because it *WAS* different than the old business world. I don't think it will be too hard to find companies that understand that advertising on the net is different. You certainly will lose some editorial control, but if you choose carefully and are completely up front with your advertisers, you won't lose much. The other thing you can do is only work with advertisers who are not likely to have conflicts with your editorial content. Hardware is always a good bet, for example. You and guys like Adam Engst are re-shaping the whole notion of news; it's okay to take money for it, because you are providing a real service. I'd also keep an eye on selling it direct to subscribers, because that's where the real money and the real future is....I'd pay you a dollar a year for MacChat....sounds pretty stingy of me, but TidBITs has a circulation in excess of 100,000 people, as I recall. Getting a dollar from 100,000 people sounds pretty good to me. And keep in mind that I will probably be paying a dollar to a lot of different people for news. Eventually, I think things like TidBITs and MacChat will be selling for a penny or less. And you will still be making a very good living. -------- By Two852@aol.com Go for the advertising! The only concern I would have is that you would sell so much advertising that was the same from issue to issue that I would have to scroll and delete before printing your newsletter out (which I usually do, and share it with people at the office). I suppose you would add a disclaimer: PAID ADVERTISING STARTS HERE. THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ADVERTISED HERE ARE NOT NECESSARILY ENDORSED-NOR HAVE THEY BEEN TESTED-BY TONY LINDSEY OR STAFF OF MAC*CHAT. BUYER BEWARE. I think it would be a great service to all of us readers if companies which offered particular price advantages or unique products and services were able to advertise here. -------- By dgb@cvs.rochester.edu (David Bensinger) I think TidBITs has gone downhill. This may or may not happen with Chat, just realize that if you accept ads Chat will be a very, very different place. I think it is fine to accept ads. But please, PLEASE don't have the arrogance to assert that it won't affect your "editorial vision." It SHOULD, it most likely will. And EVEN IF it doesn't, readers are always wise to assume that increasing the value of your space will be a priority. And that it might restrain you from publishing a slightly controversial piece. Change is good. This is a simple evolutionary step. There will always be someone else to step in and take your place. Either way, thanks for a great column. -------- By pmorgan@morgan-news.com (Peter Morgan, Morgan:Newsletters) Let's ask the tough question of you, Tony: Who do you want calling the tune, subscribers or advertisers? ADVERTISERS: With advertisers, things are just business. They want to know three things, in the following order: 1. Is your audience their market? (Reach) 2. When do you deliver their message to your audience? (Frequency) 3. How much does it cost, on a cost-per-thousand viewers/readers basis. ($) Most of them know that there is about five times more impact for their message if it's in editorial copy than if it's in an advertising area. Some will be bold about it: "Write about me and I'll give you $X,XXX. Okay then, how about $XXX more?" Some will be subtle about it: "Hi Tony. Here's my monthly advertising order and my check for $X,XXX. Say, did you hear about our WhizBang?" Are you really going to: a) ask them tough questions about the WhizBang after he just gave you $X,XXX and advertising copy you'll be running that talks about how WhizBang 2.04 solves the problems of the world? b) Publish tough-love responses from your readers/viewers knowing it could jeopardize a 12-month $XX,XXX contract that still has eight months to run? SUBSCRIBERS: With subscribers, it's just love. Subscribers want to know one thing: Is the information in this newsletter worth $XX per year? (Put another way: Do they love your newsletter enough to shell out cash for it?) Value is a hard definition and there are a lot of variables that comprise it, and Mac*Chat has it in spades. As long as they feel the information is worth it, they don't (largely) care: 1. When it comes (Sometimes Mac*Chat is weekly, sometimes it isn't) [Hey! I need a vacation once in a while! :-> ] 2. Who writes it (Sometimes it's you, sometimes it's your edit of readers comments) 3. How long it is (Sometimes it's longish, and sometimes it's longer) [I keep it under 30k every week now, and plan to keep it that way] If you want money for what you do (and I have _no_ problem with that) get it from your subscribers. We may not have as much, on an individual basis, and you'll have to deal with fulfillment headaches; and you'll have to deal with pricing issues to companies who want multiple subs (these questions have been solved by hundreds of publishers for years). We're harder to find (and not as hard to keep) than advertisers. But there are _far_ more of us than there are advertisers. You have things under your control: you only mail it to people who pay for it. You: "A sample issue from two months ago is at our Web site." Potential Subscriber: "I saw it; I loved it. A friend passed it along to me." You: "Will that be Visa, MasterCard or e-cash?" -------- By Henry Dunsmore As a skeptic - I see that this is the end of the informal, casual, sometimes biased (but always informative) MacChat. I think I understand your frustration and desire to see the "newsletter- now magazine" become more meaningful to you and yet maintain the feeling of pleasure (you probably felt) from its inception and early growing pains. MacChat is like a child growing up. Unfortunately, too often growing up and having fun part ways somewheres around puberty. I don't think MacChat (ie.you) should stop having fun Whatever direction you decide to take MacChat it should be only under the condition that you enjoy it. If adding advertising to MacChat makes your life easier, either financially or by giving you more time to do the things you enjoy, then that's what you must do. Those that write to you (I'm sure there will be many) to say nix to advertising will either live with it or get out. There may be some that will start MacTalk or MacConversation, but they will reach the same conclusion as you and at some point ask the same questions. My feeling about advertising is probably like yours and I'm sure we are by any means alone. I get sick and tired of the magazine where the articles become the support for the advertising. However, these magazines must be lucrative for the owners and no doubt without the advertisers, we wouldn't get as great a choice of magazines that appeal to us. If you must advertise: * could the advertising be restricted to only those companies that you feel are good 'corporate' citizens (your choice). * could a single 'sponsor' be approached that would give you the funds needed to hire, buy, or pay for the continuation of MacChat (on your terms) * could you separate the advertising off so that one could skip over it (its infuriating to have to go through pages of advertising between articles) * perhaps soliciting individual "this edition of MacChat brought to you by" would be a more effective advertising approach for yourself or the 'advertiser' * advertising should be linked to review wherever possible * finally, keep MacChat small, keep it informal, keep it fun - so advertisers should be dealt with in the same way ie. ask them to give you editorial for their advertising (even though it would be biased) with your right to refuse (at the cost of losing the client) or edit it I think you will find support for your decision no matter what it is. -------- By "Jim Woodgett" Adding advertisements would be fine with the following qualifications: * The advertiser has no influence over content and does not "preview" content. The agreement should be up-front so they know what they are getting into. They want a wide audience. If they want a dumb audience let them use other channels. * The adverts should be text-only (as in NN and TBits) and at either the beginning or end of the newsletter (not interspersed). * Advertisers should be encouraged to inject information into their ads. Thus, a tip or feature could be highlighted, or a pointer to a web page for more info, etc. Too many e-zine ads are boring and I skip over them with a single click. * You currently make money out of consulting and do Mac*Chat part-time. That may change. Work out your career goals now. If you want Mac*Chat to support you and your Collie, I'd put out firm feelers to assess the audience reaction. The popularity of the newsletter is just as likely to evaporate as to solidify. In addition, accepting adverts *may* compromise your objectivity in the minds of some clients. They will need reassuring. * Don't pay contributors cash. Buy them software or services. We are supposed to be in this for education and making our lives easier. That shouldn't include paying the bills or there will be questions of objectivity and conflicts of interest. Once the big boys smell the blood in the water, you could be engulfed. * A related point. The popularity of the newsletter is it's approachability and casual nature. Getting too slick might endanger that image. Not that I'm condoning crass amateurism. The newsletter is certainly not in that class. It's just that if people want *slick* they download MacAlley. If they want "homely" advice that makes no assumptions, they subscribe to Mac*Chat. * Delegate, delegate, delegate. Memory Merchants Reviewed ------------------------- By markeb@netcom.com (Mark Brautigam) Here's a further update: I bought 5 disks from these folks last week at 15.99 each. That's their price for Qty _1_. There is no longer a quantity discount, but as you can see, it's no longer necessary. They arrived promptly, as well. I subsequently received a flyer in which they outline their terms: No surcharge for Visa/MC, card not charged until shipped, 30 day money back guarantee & price protection. I was afraid to try these folks for fear of aiding a fly-by- night operation to go out of business. (What kind of margins can they stand on these disks?) But I've been very pleased. [Memory Merchants, 1-800-799-3475/415-594-9173.] Technical Section Starts... Here -------------------------------- Sharing Modems Over A Network ----------------------------- By sw@network-analysis-ltd.co.uk (Sak Wathanasin) As the UK distributor for Stalker, Inc. products, we were pleased to read the recommendations of PortShare by your readers. However, I'd like to clear up one small point. Bo Holst-Christensen wrote: > Using PhoneNet (or any other net using AppleTalk through a serial port) with Macintosh machines without a GeoPort or a dedicated processor, results in interrupts being turned off by the AppleTalk software.... > If a newer Macintosh machine is used for a server, or the > PhoneNet is replaced with an EtherNet, PortShare from Stalker > Software should solve the problem. PortShare will happily work over LocalTalk. Bo is correct in that the LocalTalk driver turns off interrupts, but there are ways around this (e.g., the PollProc hook ;-). The limiting factor is the speed of the server Mac - in general, the faster it is the better. If you run a LocalTalk-based network, consider getting a used IIfx as the server. The IIfx uses a separate processor to handle serial I/O, and in timing tests that I have carried out, it beats every Mac that we have here including an 840AV and an accelerated 6100/80 as far as LocalTalk is concerned. I suspect it'll beat anything except a PPC running a native AppleTalk protocol stack (using Open Transport). For reasons that I have never understood, Apple did not see fit to use the separate IOP approach in any other Mac. Another possibility is to use a NuBus card such as the CSI Hurdler/Hustler card so that the serial I/O processing is off-loaded. Using a IIfx as the server and PortShar(e)ing a v34 modem, I can get FTP rates of over 2500 bytes/sec with compressed binary files from a PB 170 over a LocalTalk network. Doing it the other way round (with the PB acting as server),we only get about 1100 bytes/sec - the PB simply doesn't have the horsepower to keep both the serial and LocalTalk ports going at the same time. If you can afford it, upgrading to ethernet is the best option, but it isn't necessary. -------- By owenathome@rsnz.govt.nz (Owen Watson) Another solution, especially if you're trying to connect a LocalTalk network with Ethernet, is to get a router that supports modem sharing. Webster's MultiPort, which I've got, supports modem sharing with PortShare, and as well acts as an ARA server. It also deals with IP and various other protocols (PPP Real Soon Now). Webster gives great support (by email as well) and they have a mailing list. Talk to tom@wcc.oz.au (Tom Evans) - one of their programmers/tech support staff. Legalisms --------- Copyright 1989-1995 Tony Lindsey. Nonprofit groups (such as Mac User Groups) or other non-commercial publications) are welcome to use any part of the Mac*Chat newsletters if full credit is given. All others will need to contact me. This newsletter is intended purely as entertainment and free information. No profit has been made from any of these opinions. Time passes, so accuracy may diminish. Publication, product, and company names may be registered trademarks of their companies. This file is formatted as setext, which can be read on any text reader. Tips from readers are gratefully accepted. Please write them in a user-friendly way, and if you are mentioning an Internet site, please include a paragraph explaining why others should visit it. Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter ------------------------------------- You may subscribe to Mac*Chat by sending e-mail to: listserv@vm.temple.edu The Subject line is ignored, so it can say anything. In the body of the message include the following line: SUBSCRIBE MACCHAT Your full name As an example: SUBSCRIBE MACCHAT Juliana Tarlton You will receive a nice long message explaining acceptance of your subscription, how to end it (if desired) and general listserv info. You will then automatically receive Mac*Chat in your e-mail box, for free, every week. ============== ____ ================================================ Tony Lindsey \ _/__ Free, weekly e-mailed Mac-oriented newsletter Mac*Chat Editor \X / xxltony@cts.com, http://www.cts.com/~xxltony/ ================= \/ ===============================================