Celestin Apprentice 4/Apprentice-Release4.iso/Source Code/Libraries/VideoToolbox 95.11.08/Advice

Text File | 1995-11-08 | 58.1 KB | 679 lines | [TEXT/R*ch]

VideoToolbox:Advice
November 8, 1995

Advice to beginners,

If you want to do vision experiments on your Macintosh computer, and haven’t
programmed a Mac before, there are various things you should get for yourself.
I’ve listed what I consider essential. The stuff I use. There are lots of baby
books that hold your hand while you learn, but the ones that I’ve looked at
weren’t helpful for setting up vision experiments. They’re oriented towards
producing Mac-like applications with the right look and feel, which is
unimportant when the experimenter is the only person that will ever run the
program. Be warned that the bible, Inside Macintosh, is intimidating at first.
The classic comment about Inside Mac is that you have to have read the rest to
understand any part. Fortunately, the second edition is much more readily
assimilable. Mac programming is tough going at first, but I’ve come to like it,
as the Apple routines are generally intelligent solutions to complicated
problems. Anyway, by looking at the sources for the various demos in the
VideoToolbox you should be able to get going much more quickly than I did. Good
luck. -Denis Pelli, [e-mail]

The entire VideoToolbox (with a few inconsequential exceptions) now runs native
on the PowerPC. We're very happy with the PowerMacs and the Metrowerks
CodeWarrior Gold C compiler ($99 academic). The compiler and your code both run
native and fast!

•I recommend the PowerMac 7500 (best specs) or 7200 (best buy) over other models
to anyone that wants to buy a mac to show movies (i.e. copy images to the screen
in real time)--see the "Video synch" document.

NOTE: the archive addresses that appear throughout this document, e.g.
"ftp://...", are in a standard format called "URL" (Uniform Resource Locator)
that most internet-aware programs now prefer. To retrieve files from a URL, I
recommend Anarchie, which you can download from here:
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/comm/tcp/anarchie-16.hqx
(If you're using BBEdit to read this, and you're connected to the intly will never fix it.
     ON THE OTHER HAND: Lew Harvey, [e-mail], writes "Dear Denis,
I was just reading your advice file in the latest VideoToolbox and think
that you are being too harsh on Symantec. I think their C compiler is great. It
is my understanding that Symantec is not abandoning C in favor of C++ and is
making continual improvements in both. I think it is true that they are putting a
lot of effort into C++, but since the ANSI standard libraries are written in C,
they still depend on a good C compiler. I have found them quite responsive to my
reporting of bugs in both the C and C++ 68k compilers. In any case I am very
happy with the development environment. From the comments I've read in various
newsgroups, I conclude that the Symantec C++ development environment is superior
to CW in several ways, including the handling of exceptions, Visual Architect and
the TCL class library. (I don't own stock in Symantec!)." [Note that Denis used
THINK C until 1994, while Lew is using Symantec C++, which appeared about then,
so the two views are compatible.]
     Lew adds, "There is a confusion about names for the compilers and the
project managers. Symantec is using the following naming scheme to distinguish
the various compilers and the processors they produce code for. To produce
PowerPC code: Symantec Project Manager 8.0.1, PowerPC C (C compiler) 8.0.1,
PowerPC C++ (C++ compiler) 8.0.1. To produce 68k Code: Think Project Manager
7.0.4, Think C (C compiler) 8.0, Symantec C++ (C++ compiler) 8.0"
    10/95: Lew qualifies, "I reread what I had written in 'Advice' and it seems
too strong. I still like using Symantec C/C++ largely because I have written
several programs using the Think Class Library and I don't want to make the
effort to learn another framework (i.e., PowerPlant). The Symantec Project
Manager (SPM), version 8.0.3, that produces code for the PowerPC is a pleasure to
use. The editor is very similar to that in CodeWarrior. The SPM browser makes
checking class relationships and functions easy, etc. But I am still using the
Think Project Manager (TPM), version 7.0.5, to produce code for the 68k Macs and
I must say that I am getting impatient to have the features of SPM v8 and
CodeWarrior. Symantec is supposed to be working on a single project manager that
will be used for both 68k and PPC development (like Metroworks already has) for
their next major release. I can hardly wait.
THINK C 6 $299
Symantec C++ 7 for Macintosh $299??
Symantec C++ 8 for Power Macintosh $299
Upgrade to C++ 8 $149.95 for registered users of Symantec C++ 7,THINK C,or Pascal.
Symantec Corporation
10201 Torre Ave
Cupertino, CA 95014
[phone] fax
[phone]
You can get Symantec's THINK C updates from:
http://www.symantec.com/
ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/dev/sym/
ftp://devtools.symantec.com/DTS Server Drive /ftp/Macintosh/Updates/DevTools/
"The 7.0.4 update contains patches to the THINK Project Manager and THINK
Debugger for System 7.5 compatibility, but is otherwise identical to the 7.0.3
update released on June 22." EDS (Essential Development tool Set) includes "the
THINK Project Manager, THINK Debugger, and the compilers." The THINK C upgrade
from 7.04 to 8.0 changes only the version number. Support questions can be sent
to Symantec at:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

MPW Pro (Macintosh Programmer's Workbench, Professional Edition) $295  ($75 to
upgrade from MPW) from APDA (address above). This is a new package from Apple,
providing a complete development environment (C, Pascal, and Assembler; 68k and
PowerPC) on one CD-ROM. (Includes Mac Programmer's Toolbox Assistant.) Apparently
it's the same CD-ROM that you would get by subscribing to ETO (minus Symantec
C++), without the printed manuals. Most people find MPW slow and clumsy, and
prefer CodeWarrior. (The only thing I use MPW for is CompareFiles.) However,
Apple includes pre-release tools on their ETO disks that might be handy.

Essential Tools and Objects CD-ROM (also called “ETO”) $795 for first year,
$250/year thereafter ($200 credit for owners of MPW Pro) from APDA. I don’t
subscribe to this--it seems too expensive--but you may want to. It’s updated 3
times a year and has the latest versions of Apple’s development tools, MPW, C,
etc. It includes MPW Pro, Symantec C++, Inside Mac CD-ROM, Mac Programmer's
Toolbox Assistant, and 21 printed manuals. Doesn't include the Developer
Mailings. (The important difference between MPW Pro and ETO is that ETO is a
subscription so they keep sending you the latest disk, 3 times a year, whereas
you buy MPW Pro once, no updates.)

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

CVNet is the Color and Vision Network. To join just send an email message to the
moderator, explaining your interest in vision. If you're accepted, your email
address will be added to the email distribution list. CVNet sends out about a
message a day about events of interest to people doing vision research: mostly
jobs, conferences, and solicitations of advice. Free.
    [e-mail]

TidBITS. A free weekly email newsletter about Macintosh software and hardware
published by Adam and Tonya Engst.
    [e-mail]

MacWEEK. Try to get a free subscription.
    Customer Service Department
    P.O. Box 5821
    Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
    (609)-428-5000

MacTech Magazine. The only paper Mac magazine for programmers.
    PO Box 250055
    Los Angeles, CA 90025-9555
    310-575-4343
    310-575-0925 fax
    [e-mail]

develop: The Apple Technical Journal. $27 in US, $47 outside US. From APDA
(address above). The develop magazine has four issues per year.
It has lots of examples and helpful in-depth explanations. I've learned a lot
from the magazine. The accompanying CD includes useful documentation: Tech Notes.

Apple Developer Mailing Subscription. Each month you receive a CD-ROM. $149/year
from APDA. These CDs are a very useful reference, including documentation and
sample code, for anyone developing Mac software. Includes Macintosh Programmer's
Toolbox Assistant.

Mac OS Software Developer's Kit ($149/year, 3 issues per year). Each issue is a
CD-ROM containing a fairly complete collection of Apple's software to interface
to components of the operating system, e.g. the Display Manager. I think most of
this stuff is included in the Developer Mailings CD-ROM, so it probably wouldn't
be worth subscribing to both.

Macintosh Associates Plus Program. $500/year. Apple engineers will answer up to
ten questions per year. Includes developer mailings. Call (408)-974-4897.

Macintosh Partners Program. $1,500/year. Only for people producing commercial
products for Mac. Apple engineers answer an unlimited number of questions.
Includes developer mailings.

ONLINE SERVICES:

Who can answer your Macintosh programming question? You can try posting it on
UseNet or Compuserve. Somebody knowledgeable might jump in. (Apple engineers
often participate in UseNet, occasionally in CompuServe.) For $500 you can become
an Apple Associate Plus (above) and ask 10 questions (over a year) of Apple
engineers, who will answer your questions by email, provided you've already
consulted the relevant manuals.

UseNet. The comp.sys.mac.programming.codewarrior UseNet news group has
knowledgeable active discussion. Experts often jump in with helpful answers to
thorny questions. You can participate in UseNet from your your Mac using telnet
(NCSA Telnet and MacIP are both free) to log into a local unix system. Or you
might use InterNews (available by ftp from the Info-Mac archive) if you can get
tcp/ip access to a net news server.

CompuServe Information Service. If you can’t join UseNet, then you may want to
join CompuServe, to follow the discussions and post your seemingly insoluble
Macintosh problems on the bulletin boards, MacPro, MacDev, or Symantec:THINK C,
to get free advice from experts. Buy the program Navigator from CompuServe, as it
makes CompuServe much easier to use. You’ll need a modem. A new wrinkle is that
CompuServe offers dialup PPP access to the internet, which may be a
cost-effective way of accessing your mail when you're on the road.
http://www.compuserve.com/new/news_rel/netl.html
P.O. Box 20212
Columbus, OH 43220
(800)-848-8199

eWorld. Apple’s original bulletin board and email system was AppleLink, which is
being phased out and replaced by eWorld. AppleLink provides some system software
updates and technical information. Most companies that make Macintosh products
have AppleLink accounts, and you can use the online directory to get their email
addresses. You’ll need a modem. I've tried eWorld, but so far (3/95) I haven't
found eWorld useful. Apple has just announced that they will provide
one-day-turnaround free customer support on eWorld, which may make it worth
subscribing. As of October '95, the word is that eWorld hasn't caught on.
[phone]
[e-mail]

SOFTWARE ARCHIVES ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE INTERNET:

FTP is a file transfer protocol used to transfer files across the Internet. FTP
programs typically have very rudimentary user interfaces. Some of the bigger ftp
servers are now also Gopher servers. Gopher (developed at University of
Minnesota, originally for a campus-wide information server)  is sort of a
superset of ftp that provides a quite good user interface and allows access to a
wide variety of Internet resources. Public ftp servers require that you log in as
“anonymous and will accept any password, but it is considered a courtesy to
supply your electronic address as the password. If for some reason you can’t use
ftp or gopher, some of the sites will help you out by allowing you to request
transmission of files to you by email.

There are two ways to use ftp from your Mac. The traditional, indirect, approach
is to remotely log into a mainframe (preferably one running unix), use its ftp
facilities to move the file to it, and then download the file from it. The
modern, direct, approach requires that your AppleTalk network have a gateway to
the Internet, so that you can run an ftp program on your Mac (provided you have
Apple’s MacTCP init, included in System 7.5). I recommend Anarchie, TurboGopher,
Mosaic, or Netscape for downloading and Fetch 2.12 for uploading. All are free
from the Info-Mac archive.

The Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh, 3rd ed, by Adam C. Engst. $29.95 USA
$37.95 Canada. For beginners. Includes lots of public domain software to help you access
the Internet. Hayden Books.
    [e-mail]

The Providers of Commercial Internet Access (POCIA) Directory contains hundreds
of entries for Internet providers, which include addresses, telephone numbers,
email addresses, and pricing. It is indexed by area code (for the U.S. and
Canada) and by country (for the rest of the world). (Courtesy TidBITS)
    http://www.teleport.com/~cci/
    ftp://ftp.teleport.com/vendors/cci/pocia/pocia.txt

ADVICE
Hans Strasburger's annotated list of available visual psychophysics software
    http://vision.arc.nasa.gov/VisionScience/VisionScience.html
Eye movements
    gopher://gopher.spc.edu:70/00/Academics/Ugrad/Ps/Faculty/Carmody/EYEMOV-L/Query/q_ober2more.txt
Displaying stereo images
    http://www.tisco.com/3d-web/index.html
Digital camera guide (e.g. Apple's QuickTake 150)
    http://rainbow.rmii.com/~jburton/PlugInSystems/DigitalCameraGuide.html

Faith Florer, [e-mail], published on CVNet 7/31/95 this list
of experimental psychology software packages compatible with the PowerMac.
(I deleted VideoToolbox and abbreviated the other entries. dgp)
MacStim - Simple text script. $300
    [e-mail]
    [e-mail]
Psychlab - Easy script-based language. $350
    Not developed for the power mac, but if problems appear the programmers will fix it.
    [e-mail]
PsyScope - Graphics and scripting. Recommended by six users. Free
    ftp://[e-mail]
    http://poppy.psy.cmu.edu/psyscope
    Cohen JD, MacWhinney B, Flatt M & Provost J (1993). PsyScope: A new graphic
    interactive environment for designing psychology experiments. Behavioral
    Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 25(2), 257-271.
RSVP - Manipulation of simple C-level scripts, designed to run with the VideoToolbox. Free
    http://www.cs.yale.edu/HTML/YALE/CS/AI/TarrLab/taww.gse.ucla.edu/staff/DEF/PCIpurge.html
Motorola PowerPC FAQ
    http://www.mot.com/PowerPC/lib/ppc_faq.html
Macintosh, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
    http://www.macfaq.com/faq/generalfaq.html
    ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/programming-faq
    ftp://sumex-aim.stanford.edu/info-mac/dev/info/beginning-mac-programming.txt
    ftp://sumex-aim.stanford.edu/info-mac/dev/info/csm-programmer-faq.txt
    http://king.tidbits.com/adam/FAQ.html
    http://rever.nmsu.edu/~elharo/faq/Macintosh.html
Macintosh vendor directories
    gopher://ocf.berkeley.edu/hh/gopherspace/Computer/Systems/Macintosh/PowerMac_Products
    http://rever.nmsu.edu/~elharo/faq/vendor.html
    http://thelist.com/
Mac programming
    http://www.class.com/MacTech/URLs.html
    http://www.mactech.com/
    http://www.freepress.com/myee/ultimate_mac.html
    http://www.cs.brandeis.edu/~xray/mac.html
    ftp://ftp.amug.org/pub/contrib/demos/Development
    http://www.astro.new.edu/lentz/mac/programming/home-prog.html
Mac information maintained by enthusiasts (source: MacTech magazine)
    http://www.pitt.edu/~nick/
    http://www.iquest.com/~fairgate
    http://acacia.ens.fr:8080/home/pottier/index.html
comp.sys.mac.programmer digest
    news://comp.sys.mac.digest
Well Connected Mac
    http://www.macfaq.com/
Welcome to Macintosh
    http://www.astro.nwu.edu/lentz/mac/home-mac.html
Mac archive of Adam Engst, author of The Internet Starter Kit and editor of TidBITS,
    ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/tisk/
    http://www.tidbits.com/tidbits/index.html

COMPANIES
AT&T phone directory for "800" numbers:
    http://att.net/dir800
Hayden books. Buy books online at a 20 percent discount. (Source: TidBITS)
    http://www.mcp.com/
MIT Press:
    http://www-mitpress.mit.edu
    [e-mail]
    [e-mail]
NASA's Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC) "has over 850
computer programs available internationally that were originally developed by
NASA and its contractors for the U.S. space program.  Software is available for
a number of areas of interest including:  artificial intelligence, computational
fluid dynamics, finite element structural analysis, scientific visualization,
thermal and fluid flow analysis, and many more.  Programs are priced on a
cost-recovery basis and usually include source code."
    706-542-4807 fax
    [e-mail]
    gopher://gopher.cosmic.uga.edu
    http://www.cosmic.uga.edu
National Instuments (hardware and software for data acq. & control)
    http://natinst.com
PowerCity Online. Sales for Mac/PC. "Subject: Order Info" (Recommended by TidBITS.)
    [e-mail]

ACADEMIC VISION-RELATED SITES
Vision research: labs,groups,conferences,newsgroups,databases,source code,etc.
    http://vision.arc.nasa.gov/VisionScience/VisionScience.html
Psychophysics Software Overview by Hans Strasburger, [e-mail]
    http://vision.arc.nasa.gov/VisionScience/VisionScience.html
    http://www.med.uni-muenchen.de/medpsy/vis/psyphs/psy_soft.html
Tables of contents of selected recent vision journals
    gopher://eyesite.optometry.ohio-state.edu/
CVNet, Color and Vision Network. Also see CVNet under "EMAIL" below.
    http://vision.arc.nasa.gov/VisionScience/mail/cvnet/index.html
LOVNET low vision research
    http://vision.psych.umn.edu/www/lovnet/lovnet.html
Conferences on Medical Imaging and Computer Vision
    http://www.cv.ruu.nl/Conferences/
National Eye Institute (US)
    http://www.nei.nih.gov
National Institutes of Health (US)
    http://www.nih.gov
American Psychological Society Employment Bulletin
    http://oak.hanover.edu/psych/APS/aps.html
MIT
    http://www.mit.edu:8001/home-pages.html
MIT AI memos
    ftp://publications.ai.mit.edu/ai-publications/

SOFTWARE ARCHIVES ON CD-ROM:

Info-Mac CD-ROM $49.95 plus shipping. A recent snapshot of the
info-mac archive on a CD-ROM containing about 600 MB. (Includes recent
edition of the VideoToolbox.)
Pacific HiTech, Inc.
4760 Highland Drive, Suite 204
Salt Lake City, Utah 84124
800-765-8369 (orders only)
801-278-2042
801-278-2666 (fax)
[e-mail]

Apprentice CD-ROM $35 (includes shipping in US and Canada) 600 dware), or 3.
snip two of the 75 ohm termination resistors inside the monitor and tie all three
channels together (not for the faint of heart--i haven't tried this).

Paul Beckmann, [e-mail], asks, "The lab's Apple Monochrome monitors
are losing brightness. Apple no longer produces the monitor. Do you know of a
MONOCHROME monitor that will take its place using the old standard Mac video
timing?" ANSWER: I'm deciding among 3 choices:
1. buy used Apple monochrome monitors from Shreve for $150. We've bought 4 before.
2. buy new apple or sony color monitors. (See note above regarding ISR Video Attenuator.)
3. buy a fancy monochrome monitor: Dotronix, $1450.

Here's what I know about high-frame rate and bright monitors. (Fast and bright
are both interesting, separately and together.) Does anybody have anything to
add?

A company called Dotronix is supposed to be coming out with a high resolution
(150 MHz) bright (300 cd/m^2) 21" multisynch gray scale monitor (ASM2400 21"FS)
for about $1450. Dotronix [phone].

I know very little about color monitors, but people keep asking me to recommend
one. Tom Robson of Cambridge Research Systems gave me a brochure for what
appears to be a rather nice color monitor: Sony 20-inch Trinitron Multiscan
GDM-2038. Field rate of 50 to 160 Hz. Max luminance 160 cd/m^2. Costs $2,500.

John Troy, [e-mail], writes, "We are using a Sony Trinitron
Color Display Multiscan. The model we use is the GDM-17SE1 (a 17" monitor). There
is a sister 20" monitor (GDM-20SE1) whose properties are presumably similar.
Although ours is a color monitor we have only used it so far as a white stimulus.
(We've made accurate measurements of chromaticity.) We run the refresh rate at
153 Hz (Line rate:  82.3 kHz, Dot rate: 108 MHz); the capacity to run this fast
was what attracted us to the monitor. [John is not using a Mac--he's using a
Cambridge Research Systems VSG board in a PC.] At that rate, in our hands, the
mean luminance is 82 cd m^-2. At that luminance with a 5 mm diameter pupil we
find that the cat ganglion cells we've studied so far resolve around 70-75 Hz; if
the screen luminance were higher, we'd need a faster frame rate to satisfy the
Nyquist criterion. According to the Sony spec-sheet, at 155.30 Hz the display has
640 dots X 480 lines (82 kHz line rate). We have currently only displayed
one-dimensional patterns (e.g., sinusoidal gratings, edges). We've achieved very
good control over stimulus contrast and accurate generation of sinewave gratings.
We are very satisfied with it. It was priced quite reasonably at $999."

We bought Apple's 17" Multiscan for about $900. It's a Sony Trinitron. Peak
luminance is about 100 cd/m^2. Using the Monitors control panel, or the new
Display Manager, you can select among several resolutions.

Does anyone know what the differences are between the Sony GDM-2038 and the
GDM-20SE1? They're both 20". Apple's 17" and 20" multiscan monitors are
made by Sony. Does anyone know whether they'll run at 150 Hz, like the
Sony GDM-2038 and the GDM-20SE1?

John Troy, [e-mail], writes, "I came across a new monitor,
Optiquest 2082DC, this weekend which might be better than the Sony.  It is a 20
inch color monitor with an advertised price of $1399. It has a 90 MHz dot rate.
Like the Sony, it has a shadow mask and various energy-saving features that may
be troublesome.  I don't have much information yet. Optiqest Inc., Walnut, CA
91789. (909)-468-3750."

Harry Orbach, [e-mail], writes "I have noticed that some monitors
(NEC  XP15,  XP17, XP21 and Panasonic  C1791E) are advertised in MacMall to run
at 160 Hz."

MacLiberty Adapter is a small 15-pin-D to 15-pin-D adapter that programs the
video sense lines to mimic any monitor, to fool your video card. (Costs ten or
twenty bucks; I forget.) I bought my MacLiberty Adapter from Enhance Cable
Technology, but apparently they are now strictly wholesale. Tom Busey writes,
"The only dealer I found is MacMall, at 1-800-222-2808. I would advise people to
be very clear about what they are ordering. I have yet to receive a correct order
from them the first time, although they do always eventually get it right."
Enhance Cable Technology
730 North Ninth Street
San Jose, CA 95112
800-343-2425
408-293-2425
408-293-2468 fax

MacWeek (4/10/95) says, "MacFly is a $25 universal adapter that allows users to
switch on the fly among all supported Mac and VGA resolutions. [It] has single
switch for moving between Mac and VGA resolution families; all changes within a
family are handled by the standard Monitors control panel.... works with all
third-party cards that support the Mac Display Manager and the Apple Multiple
Scan 20 Display."
MacAdapt, El Cerrito, 510-525-0789, 510-525-5740 fax, [e-mail]

LCD GLASSES:

Displaying stereo images
    http://www.tisco.com/3d-web/index.html

Stereographics Corp. sells LCD glasses.
[phone]
[e-mail]
"CrystalEyes is a high-quality (60 frames per second per eye) product with good
transmission and blocking characteristics, and it's light-weight, too. Silicon
Graphics bundles them with their 3D workstation packages so I guess I'm not the
only one who like them."

Lafayette Instruments
Sells LCD glasses.

3d-tv
Michael Starks, President
415-479-3516
Sells a variety of different kinds of LCD glasses.

"The archive for the virtual reality newsgroup has more information on other
manufacturers. It's a bit out of date, but it still has good pointers to
equipment manufacturers."
ftp://ftp.u.washington.edu/public/virtual-worlds/faq/commercial/

"The book 'Garage Virtual Reality' has a list of sources. It's a cool book as
well."

(Source: Dan Costin, [e-mail], via MacPsych, who is quoting Rob Douglas,
[e-mail], Hisham A. Abboud, [e-mail], Tom Busey,
[e-mail], Blake Sobiloff, [e-mail], and Chris Chase,
[e-mail])

Mats Lind, [e-mail], writes, "3-D Max, a Swedish company, working with
a Korean supplier, has just started to deliver attractively priced LCD-shutter
glasses and accessories giving binocular stereo capabilities to PCs. Their
product received enormous attention at the Ce-Bit fair in Hannover last week. The
estimated retail price in the US will be less than $180 USD (including some extra
software like 3-D games) and will probably reach a high market share. 3-D Max, is
very interested in entering the Apple market segment as well, but to do so
requires the usual 120+ Hz."

Tom Busey, [e-mail], adds, "I have just finished writing code that
displays color stereo 3-d pairs for use with LCD glasses. This code uses
sequential-frame presentations synched with LCD glasses controlled via the serial
port to provide the illusion of depth. While this technology is old, what is new
is my code takes two PICT files and reduces the millions of colors to what
amounts to 4 bits per red, green and blue channel for each picture (on monitors
with millions of colors) or 2 bits per channel for monitors with thousands of
colors. I add the two pictures together and I use clut switching to switch
between them. The stereo 3-d code uses calls from (not surprisingly) the
VideoToolbox code library. As with all the code I write, this code is freely
available to anyone who wants it. I'm currently working with LCD glasses
distributors to have it distributed free to purchasers of LCD glasses (which cost
about $150). The software may be downloaded from:"
ftp://ftp.psych.indiana.edu/pub/busey/AdjustStereoPicts.sea.hqx

COLLECTING ANALOG DATA:

Michael Bach, [e-mail], posted the following
on MacPsych in 1994, "We use 2 setups to get data into the Macs
    1. National Instruments has several analog i/o boards, and these can be
programmed directly or with their high-level language called "LabView". Expensive, but
good. See upcoming paper in Vision Res for motion vep measurements where this
was used :-).
    2. MacLab: Only 8 channels, box connects to scsi so any mac can be used, very
nice strip chard and scope applications. Much cheaper than LabView, works right
away. For better analysis transfer to Igor or whatever is advised."

Norm Vinson, [e-mail], 613-765-4992, posted the following on MacPsych
(8/95), "Here's a summary of the responses I received about the post I made for a
package containing a set of medical devices, software and hardware that [I can
connect] to a Mac to take real-time measures of physiological parameters. I
looked at biopac and that seems very good.  However, a cursory examination seems
to indicate that SuperScope II and LabView are comparable to biopac. Didn't look
at MacLab."

Biopac MP100 for the Mac (they have a windows version too).
    Biopac Systems
    275 South Orange Avenue, Suite E
    Santa Barbara, CA  93117
    phone [phone]
    fax [phone]
    [e-mail]
    [e-mail]
LabView
    National Instruments
    800-433-3488
    http://www.natinst.com/
Customization for National Instruments available from Solutions
    John Bouwens
    Solutions And Projects
    Turfschip 198
    NL-1186 XS Amstelveen
    The Netherlands
    Phone [phone]
    Fax   [phone]
    [e-mail]
MacLab
    [e-mail]
SuperScope II
    GW Instruments
    35 Medford St.
    Somerville MA USA 02143 - 1237
    Tel: 617 / 625 - 4096
    Fax: 617 / 625 - 1322
    [e-mail]

CALIBRATED IMAGES ON PAPER OR TRANSPARENCY:

YiXiong Zhou, [e-mail], asks, "have you ever calibrated transparency or
printing paper?"
    Well, yes, John and I did do that when producing the Pelli-Robson chart. It's
hard. The problem is that the printing industry universally assumes that
invisible errors are negligible, whereas psychophysics is affected by these
errors.
    Laserwriters (pennies per page) vary a LOT with amount of toner in the cartridge,
across the page and from page to page. Linotypes ($8 per page) use a laser to
expose photographic paper or transparency film, which is pretty well controlled,
EXCEPT that the developing solution is POORLY controlled, so that density is
strongly dependent on how long it's been since the developer was last
replenished. Halftone printing (to print many copies) has variations over the
page and over time; it's hellish to control to psychophysical standards.
    For producing a few images, you can do quite well by calibrating the output of a
Lintotype just before printing your final copies. You should be able to find a
Linotype by looking in the Yellow Pages for Graphics Printing, or something like
that. It's usually easier if you bring your own computer with you and connect it
to their network and print directly from your machine. You will need to create
test patterns, and you'll need an appropriate densitometer (reflection or
transmission), which cost one or two thousands of dollars. The graphics workshop
might have one they'd let you use in-house.

RECOMMENDED SOFTWARE:

A few items are "not tested"; I include them only because I think others may want
to check them out. Let me know. The free & shareware stuff is available from
Info-Mac or CompuServe or both. You can use Anarchie to quickly search most of
the world's ftp sites. To search Compuserve use their “GO MACFF” command.

Anarchie - quickly find and get any file in the world's public ftp archives. Free.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com//pub/info-mac/comm/tcp/anarchie-16.hqx
Apple Bug Reporter - report bugs to Apple. Free.
    ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Developer_Services/Utilities/Apple_Bug_Reporter_1.6.sit.hqx
ApplWindow - INIT helps you go quickly go to any window of any application. Free.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/gui/appl-window-202.hqx
ARA Commander - streamlines use of Appletalk Remote Access. $35.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/comm/tcp/ara-commander-202-demo.hqx
ATM 3.8.3 - Adobe Type Manager, $40 from Adobe at 800-521-1976 x4400.
    ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/Applications/ATM/Macintosh/Updaters/ATM_3.8.2_Updater.sea.hqx
    http://www.adobe.com/Software.html
BBEdit 3.5 - best text editor (not word processor). $99/$79 if you own CW or THINK C.
    [e-mail]
    ftp://ftp.std.com/pub/bbedit/bbedit-31-demo.hqx
    ftp://ftp.std.com/pub/bbedit/bbedit-pricing-info.txt
Claris Emailer - best email client i've ever used. $89
    ftp://ftp.claris.com/pub/USA-Macintosh/Trial_Software/ClarisEmailer1.0.hqx
    ftp://ftp.claris.com/pub/USA-Macintosh/Updaters/
    gopher://spinaltap.micro.umn.edu:70/1/computer/Claris
    http://www.claris.com
    800-544-8554
    http://www.eskimo.com/~ravensys/emailer-talk.html
Compression - List of programs to decompress anything on any computer
    ftp://ftp.cso.uiuc.edu/doc/pcnet/compression
Conflict Catcher 3.02 - best startup manager. $70
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/cfg/conflict-catcher-301-demo.hqx
    http://www.casadyg.com/Welcome.html
ConvertProjects - from THINK C to CodeWarrior C. Free.
    ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/bb/bbsw/freeware/convert-projects-10b6.hqx
Disinfectant - remove viruses. This is the best. Free.
    ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/disinfectant/disinfectant36.sea.hqx
DocuComp - compare versions of a Word or WordPerfect manuscript. $179.
    MasterSoft
    8737 E. Via de Commercio
    Scottsdale, AZ 85258
    (602)-948-4888
    800-624-6107
    602-948-8261 fax
    [e-mail]
    http://www.chaco.com/~mastersoft/
Dots & Pixels (not tested) - C++ classes to generate random dot displays.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/dev/lib/dots-and-pixels-cpp.hqx
Easy Errors - explains all the Systems errors. Free.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/info/easy-errors-111.hqx
EndNote Plus & EndLink - copy DIALOG or Grateful Med references into your paper.
    http://www.niles.com/
Excel - massage data before plotting it.
    http://www.macis.com/MacOffice/mac_apps/mac_home.htm
Fetch 2.12, 3.0b6 - ftp downloading & uploading. Free.
    http://www.dartmouth.edu/pages/softdev/fetch.html
    ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/tisk/tcp/fetch-212.hqx
    ftp://ftp.dartmouth.edu/pub/mac/Fetch_3.0b6.hqx
File Buddy - handy way to change file type & creator. $25 shareware.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/disk/file-buddy-32.hqx
Fontographer - design your own fonts. $$
    http://www.macromedia.com/Toys/Resources/Fontographer/updates.html
Gestalt Selectors - fuller documentation of  Apple's Gestalt() trap.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/dev/info/gestalt-selectors-31-etx.hqx
    http://www.bio.vu.nl/home/rgaros/gestalt/
Grateful Med - cheaply search National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE).
    800-638-8480
    ftp://gmedserv.nlm.nih.gov/grateful/pc/setup_guidelines/internet-use.txt
Internet Config - simplifies configuration of MacTCP-based programs. Free.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/comm/tcp/internet-config-11.hqx
InterNews - access UseNet news. (Haven't tried it yet.) Free.
    ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/tisk/tcp/inter-news-104.hqx
Kaleidagraph or DeltaGraph Pro or CricketGraph III - plot data.
Kermit - exchange files between different computers. Slow but universal. Free.
    http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/
Klutz - view the contents of the clut (Color Lookup Table). Free.
    ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/mac-umich/system.extensions/da/klutz.sit.hqx.gz
MacsBug 6.5.2 - Apple's low-level debugger. Free.
    ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/MacsBug_6.5.2.sea.hqx
Mathematica - modeling. $495
    Wolfram Research Inc.
    100 Trade Center Drive
    Champaign, IL 61820
    800-441-MATH
    217-398-0747 fax
    ftp://mathsource.wri.com
    http://www.wri.com/mathsource.html
    gopher://mathsource.wri.com
Mathematica: Cinematica - show grayscale movies from within Mathematica. Free.
    http://vision.arc.nasa.gov/mathematica/Cinematica/Cinematica.html
MathType - create equations for use in any word processor, especially Word. $70?
    http://www.mathtype.com/mathtype/
MATLAB - analyze data and filter images. Crude but effective. $1,000+
    ftp://ftp.mathworks.com
    http://www.mathworks.com
    [e-mail]
    508-653-1415
    508-653-2997 fax
MATLAB: UCSB Toolbox - use the VideoToolbox from within MATLAB. Free.
    ftp://lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu/pub/mac/brainard/UCSBToolboxes.sea.hqx.
MODE32 - allows old Mac II computers to do 32-bit addressing. Free.
    ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/info-mac/cfg/mode32-75.hqx
Netscape - internet browser. Free.
    ftp://ftp.netscape.com/net
    http://www.macis.com/MacOffice/mac_apps/mac_home.htm