I remember getting my very first Mac - something a friend of mine had talked me into purchasing about 4 years ago. My original intention was to use the thing to draw some weird pictures and compose music. That was pretty much my world back then. So, out of the box emerged my brand spankin' new Power Mac 6100/66 - featuring a walk-in-the-park paced processor with only 8 MB RAM, but quite powerful in those days. I had no software (unless you count my roomate's old 5-1/4" floppies she was trying to pawn off on me). That's when my friend pulled out his software gift to me.
This particular piece of software was Berkeley System's screen saver program, "After Dark". So me, being without any other piece of software, and my Mac, not being bundled with anything back in those days, decided to give the 'Flying Toasters' thing a whirl. And that's when it hit me. This was more than just a utility for preventing screen burn in your monitor. This was more than just your average <fill-in-the-blank> object floating across your computer screen. This was... fun. This was... entertaining. This was procrastination at its finest! And over the next few months, Bad Dog found a new home tearing up my desktop, I sang karaoke with flying toasters, and I was able to keep "fish" without any of them going belly up. Later on, I graduated to mowing over kitties, becoming a voyeur, and playing bungie roulette with cows....
Now the folks over at Berkeley Systems have brought forth their latest incarnation of the "After Dark" series - "After Dark Games". It features your favorite "After Dark" characters in a collection of fun and challenging games. Take a peek at it in this month's Software Picks. Thanks a lot, you guys at Berkeley! Now I'm never going to get this CD finished...
Also featured this month are a number of helpful tools and programs for those of you who have upgraded to Mac OS 8.5. Programs such as Apple-Donuts Sherlock Archive, SoundSet Constructor 1.0b1, Sigerson 1.5, and the Microsoft Office 98 Update for OS 8.5, should prove worthy to you all. Some other "Don't Miss" programs the rest of you might want to check out include the form•Z RenderZone 2.9.5 demo for you creative dreamer types, The Forgotten demo for adventure game enthusiasts, Kaleidoscope 2.1.1 for those of you who walk on the wild side, and Mac Drumset to truly annoy your coworkers (as I did).
Don't forget to check out the contents of the folder "From the Print Side". In here you will find many programs mentioned in stories from this month's magazine pages. For all you devious souls, you will especially want to check out the contents of "Technology's Most Wanted".
Until next month, enjoy The Disc!
Kris Fong
MacAddict/Digital Media Editor
"A better machine. A better magazine"
About the Disc
Documentation included with each program will make it clear whether it is shareware, freeware, a demo, etc. Please read all accompanying documentation prior to using any software contained on this disc.
Note that not all software contained on this cd is available/installable from the MacAddict Tour. Last minute changes and additions make it impossible to have everything listed there. Look through the disc in the Finder to access programs you can't find in the MacAddict Tour.
First, our standard disclaimer:
We are NOT RESPONSIBLE for any problems caused by using the software on this disc. We did not create the software, we have simply made a collection that we think is useful. If you have problems with any particular piece of software, please contact the author or company directly for help. We will not provide technical support for software.
If you use our disc, you are doing so at YOUR OWN RISK (please read the legal disclaimer and agreement of usage document at the root level of the disc). We test things out as much as possible before sending it out, but we can't exhaustively test out each piece of software on every type of machine and system configuration each month. If you lose data, or your system becomes corrupted, or your computer blows up, don't say I didn't warn you.
The MacAddict Disc Catalog
I have used a program called "DiskTracker," by Mark Pirri, to catalog each and every MacAddict disc back to #1. This program is located on most of the recent discs, in the "Utilities" folder in the "Software" folder. The catalog file itself is located at the root of the disc, and is named "MacAddict CD Catalog (1-x)." You will need to install DiskTracker on your hard drive, and then extract the catalog file (by double-clicking it) to your hard drive. Then use DiskTracker to open the catalog file.
If you continue to use the DiskTracker program, please register it. It is a great program, and the author deserves to be rewarded for his hard work.
Using the Disc
If you still have questions or problems with the disc after reading this file, visit our cd-rom help pages at the URL below. You can view problems reported by others, possible workarounds or solutions, send bug reports, and request a new disc from customer service if your disc is broken or missing. You can also use the phone number below to request a new disc in the latter case.
http://www.macaddict.com/cdrom/
The direct phone number for customer service is 1-888-771-6222. Please call them to request a new disc if yours is missing or broken, or for any issues regarding your subscription.
The MacAddict Tour
Pressing command + Q will quit to the finder from anywhere in the interface.
When you double-click on one of the "MacAddict Tour" icons (either 68k or PPC), you launch our custom-designed REALbasic interface. BE AWARE before doing so that the interface requires Mac OS 7.6 or greater and AT LEAST 8 MB of real RAM (i.e. without RamDoubler or some other software ram, such as virtual memory). This is IN ADDITION TO the amount of RAM used by your system software. For example, if you have exactly 8 MB of real RAM installed and you are running system 7.6.x, you will not be able to reliably run the interface because your system software takes up some of that RAM. We also recommend installing QuickTime 3 (if you haven't already, the freeware version is in the Apple folder on the disc). We found that compressing our movies using the Sorenson codec resulted in better video quality and handling, and kept the file size down (especially with our bigger size format). This codec is supported in QuickTime 3. The upgrade to QuickTime 3 Pro is also recommended if you integrate multimedia files into your everyday work.
If you aren't sure what version of the system software you are using or how much RAM you have installed, select the "About This Macintosh..." menu item under the Apple menu in the Finder. The version of your system software and some memory details will be displayed. Without any applications running, look at the number labeled "Largest Unused Block." If it is 8,000K or greater you can run the interface.
If you don't have the required amount of RAM, launching the "MacAddict Tour" is just asking for trouble. It will probably launch, and then at some point your computer will freeze up or give you a strange error.
Okay, Wiseguy, I don't have enough RAM...is my Phat Disc useless?
No! You can still just use the ol' finder to look through the disc and install what you want, even if you can't run the interface. The disc software is organized by category, so you can easily find things.
I have included a software index in every software category folder that provides descriptions of each software title, as well as contact information, version #'s, and the type of software it is (demo, shareware, freeware, etc.). Many of the installers will give you information about a program when launched, with the option to cancel before you actually install anything. Also, many of our installers do NOT put extensions, control panels, etc. into your system folder for you. They simply install a folder on your desktop with all the necessary parts with instructions on where to put them. This way, you will know exactly what went into your system folder (because you put it there personally) and you won't have to go hunting to get rid of it.
Unfortunately, some of the installers are not made by us, and we can't control their behaviour.
A Final Note About Installing Stuff From The Disc
When you use the software from our disc, PLEASE be careful! We try to test everything before we put it on the disc, but due to possible installer corruptions, bad discs, conflicts with your particular system, a less tolerant cd drive (meaning it is less forgiving of minor flaws on a cd), and a myriad of other variables beyond our control, you may still have problems with some or all of the programs on the disc.
To avoid causing yourself frustration and possibly losing important data, the first thing you should do is BACK UP IMPORTANT FILES before using anything on our disc. Then, install things ONE AT A TIME and try them out to make sure they don't cause problems on your system before installing the next one. You will save yourself a great deal of trouble.
Keep in mind that none of the software on the disc is written by us, so we can only offer limited technical support if you call or email us. You should always try to contact the author or company directly, since they are the ones that wrote it. Again, any program you use from our disc is at your own risk (please read the legal disclaimer and agreement of usage document at the root level of the disc).
