Univers Mac Interactif 53/Univers Mac Interactif - Issue 53.iso/JOURNAUX/mac-chat-080-to-091/mac-chat-087-etx.txt

Internet Message Format | 1995-10-01 | 29KB

From: [e-mail] (Tony Lindsey)
Subject: Mac*Chat#087/24-Aug-95

Mac*Chat#087/24-Aug-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, <[e-mail]>.
  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
Windows 95 - Let's Move On!
America Online's New E-Mail Changes
Tony's Reply
Spamming
Changing Screen Resolution On The Fly
Speed Doubler
Online User Groups
LOL Newsletter
Jaz Drive
Favorite Freeware - Filelist, Yet Again
Mac And Telephony
Filtertop
Adobe Liquidators
Donations And Copyright
Legalisms
Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter

Highlights Of This Issue
------------------------
  I make the obligatory mention of the Windows 95 hype-o-rama,
  reassure America Online subscribers that their e-mailed copy of
  Mac*chat is only SOMEWHAT screwed up, and assert that the
  Mac*Chat e-mail list will never be used for junk-mail.  A reader
  asks for a good screen-resolution-changing tool, we discuss Speed
  Doubler, more excellent online resources are mentioned, we learn
  about the new Jaz drives, a bug-fix work-around is given for
  FileList, I rave about the new Apple Geoport Adaptor software, an
  interesting new filtering program is brought up for discussion,
  we get more feedback about Adobe Liquidators, and we learn the
  proper way to donate software.

Editor's Notes
--------------
  By Tony Lindsey <[e-mail]>

  Many thanks to the several hundred folks who have written to me,
  asking where they can send their donations to help keep Mac*Chat
  going.  I realize I haven't been very forthcoming about my plans.
  I will make everything clear in next week's issue.  I've been
  very busy!  I'm throwing a HUGE potluck party for my neighbors,
  and as many as 200 households might attend.  Yikes!

  -----

  Also, what do I do about sales pitches, such as the following...

  "Thank you for the mention in your recent issue. I thought I
  might pass  along a special sale to you if you think it
  appropriate. We are blowing out our inventory of 7100/80 8/700 CD
  'NEW' 1 year warranty at $1749. while supplies last. That's far
  below dealer cost !  Why ? As you know we are a volume dealer.
  We are overstocked and trying to make room for the new models. If
  you think anyone might be interested, then thank you for passing
  it along. We are new to the web, but please continue to check on
  us."

  I'm perplexed, because I see myself as a "filter" to keep the hype
  and sales gimmickry out of the newsletter.  I chose not to give
  out the specific contact information in the above information for
  precisely that reason - I want people to read it and let me know
  if I'm being too cautious.  It's very difficult for me to verify
  that sales alerts are valid and trustworthy.  Due to the
  thousands of Mac*Chat back-issue storage sites all over the
  planet, a mistaken decision has a long shelf-life.  Please let me
  know what you think.

Windows 95 - Let's Move On!
---------------------------
  By Tony Lindsey <[e-mail]

  I've been meaning to sidestep the topic, but it's pretty-much
  unavoidable at the moment.  This whole week has been given over
  to Microsoft's official Windows 95 rollout.  As always, I read
  many of the technical computer magazines.  I also read quite a
  few non-computer-related periodicals for simple entertainment.
  Since Microsoft is squandering hundreds of millions on the
  biggest hype-fiesta I've ever seen, nearly all of my daily
  reading contains some reference to Win95.

  This morning's newspaper featured a long, tedious comparison of
  Windows 95's rollout to the Book of Genesis.  Here's a typical
  quote: "And Bill Gates called the light Windows, and the darkness
  he called Macintosh."

  Mostly, I find myself annoyed by the incessant, contemptuous digs
  at Apple Computer by people who have axes to grind.  It all seems
  very mean-spirited.  Personally, I'm thrilled that life may
  become easier for the folks who have been using PC's.  That's
  what my career is about - Making the way smoother for folks who
  don't want to become geeks.

  I don't intend to allow the discussion within Mac*Chat to
  degenerate to the same level as we can easily find elsewhere, so
  please, don't send something about Win95 for re-posting unless it
  adds something new and interesting to the topic.  I'm weary of
  the hype AND the spite.

America Online's New E-Mail Changes
-----------------------------------
  By [e-mail]

  During the last couple weeks Mac*Chat has been delivered to my
  AOL address in a curious manner. Historically, Mac*Chat has come
  as a _split_ e-mail in two separated messages. The last two
  Mac*Chats have come as an e-mail containing only the first half
  of Mac*Chat and an attached Text file containing the whole issue.
  This would be fine except the text file is unformatted and has
  been PC coded, or some such gibberish. I could spend time editing
  to make the file readable, but thought there might be an easier
  solution.

  -------

  By [e-mail]

  I've learned that AOL has recently introduced some new features
  in eMail, that they are not actually talking about yet.

  I quote below from a message sent to a Tech of the Tech Live
  variety on AOL. I was forwarded a this copy as a matter of
  interest, before I could get around to complaining to AOL about
  what had happened.

  =======================

  On Tuesday, August 15, a new e-mail feature is scheduled to be
  available to members.  America Online will officially announce
  and promote this feature to members later this week.   This
  feature gives members the ability to send and receive e-mail with
  Internet (MIME) files attached.

  The following are the new features:

  * Attached files from the Internet sent to America Online members
  will automatically be decoded and arrive as a standard e-mail
  attached files. PCAO members will have to use AOMAC2PC to decode
  the attached files.
  * Attached files sent by America Online members to Internet
  addresses will automatically be translated into MIME format.
  * Any mail converted to MIME that has a non-text section will
  have the text in the message and the non-text section as the
  attached file.
  * E-mail longer than 25k will become an attached file.  The first
  25k of the text will be included in the message.
  * Internet e-mail with multiple attached files will arrive as a
  single attached file and will not be decoded.  Members will need
  to use a MIME decode to convert multiple attached files.
  Recommend MPACK to members.
  * Attached text files sent to Macintosh members will have feed
  characters on each line.

  The following are bugs:

  * Members using the Macintosh client will have to use ResEdit to
  access attached files other than JPEGs, MPEGs, GIFs and text
  files.
  * Headers will look odd on the Windows client.
  * Text files will not have line breaks on the Windows client.

  ===================

  I send you this so that you are forewarned if any other people
  start complaining to you as well. Note that all the text between the
  lines of ============= are from inside AOL.

  I'd say that it is almost certain that the screw up is due to
  AOL, and not due to you people, and the great service and
  magazine that you offer.

  At least AOL are working on a system to allow us to send
  enclosures in Internet eMail, as well as receive them, but they
  seemingly have not got it right before foisting it on us.  Three
  million beta testers of new software might be a new record?????

Tony's Reply
------------
  By Tony Lindsey <[e-mail]>

  Believe it or not, the problem is a symptom of something
  wonderful.  The folks at AOL are attempting to iron-out the
  problems involved with swapping files attached to e-mail messages
  with the Internet at large.  I say it's about time!

  I e-mailed the newsletter to myself on AOL as a test, and found
  that the attached file is a plain-text document that is identical
  to what I would normally store on my computer, except it
  contained little boxes at the beginning of every line.  These are
  called "linefeeds," which aren't used on Macs.  They're annoying,
  but easy to remove.  Here's how, using NetStripper, a freeware
  program by Adam Lloyd, <[e-mail]>:

  Sign on to America Online, pull down the "Go To" menu and choose
  "Search Software Libraries."  Type "NetStripper" and press the
  return key.  You'll be shown "NetStripper v1.1," so go ahead and
  download it.  Quit from AOL and go find the NetStripper program
  you downloaded.  Drag it onto your desktop (above the Trash can
  is a nice location).  Whenever you get a DOS-formatted text file
  (such as the Mac*Chat attached file), just drop that text file
  onto NetStripper's icon and it will be cleaned-up automatically
  and nicely in a few seconds.  That file may then be opened with
  your word-processor.

  I wish it wasn't necessary, but I guess it's something we're
  going to have to adapt to until the bugs are worked out.  It's
  worth the trouble in the long run.

Spamming
--------
  To: [e-mail] (Jody Fairchild)

  I've been a subscriber to your MacChat list for about a year.
  I've found it to be sometimes informative, sometimes just
  "chatty", but one thing that has always struck me has been the
  care that you seem to take with the "ethical" issues associated
  with running a mailing list.  This is one of the things that
  makes MacChat an always welcome guest in my mailbox.

  This morning I received the below excerpted piece of unsolicited
  spammage [junk mail].  Hmm, I thought to myself, from whom could
  this "sales" (the sender's user id being the first clue that said
  message would be not only useless, but annoying as well) robot
  have gotten my email address?  I hope that this isn't one of the
  solutions you arrived at to make the financial maintenance of
  MacChat easier.  It seems somewhat out of character that you
  wouldn't have at least warned us first.

  [I read the junk-mail, which was from some e-mag calling itself
  Continua Reports, charging US$23.70 for a 6-month subscription.
  It seems to cover the same sort of topics as Mac*Chat.  I wonder
  if the people involved were stealing e-mail addresses from within
  the text of a Mac*Chat issue or something.  There's NO way
  otherwise, since Shrimmy and I guard the Mac*Chat mailing list
  very diligently.  You have my word of honor that I will never
  willingly allow my readers to be subjected to junk-mail of any
  kind.]

Changing Screen Resolution On The Fly
-------------------------------------
  By <[e-mail]>

  I have a question that someone might know how to answer. It's
  about changing the screen resolution on multi-sync monitors using
  the Monitors control panel: Is there a shortcut method to
  changing the resolution (ie. from 640x480 to 832x624) without
  having to open the control panel each time?

  I'm familiar with a shareware utility, ColorSwitch, which changes
  the bit depth of a monitor, but nothing I've seen yet can quickly
  change the screen resolution. Any input would be greatly
  appreciated.

  [How much money do you want to spend? The new System 7.5.2
  (usable ONLY on the newest PowerMacs) includes Control Strip 1.3.
  Unlike previous versions, it works with desktop Macs without
  modifications.  It includes the Monitor Resolution Control Strip
  Module.

  To use it, you just drag upward on the module at the bottom of
  your screen, and choose the resolution from the pop-up menu.  I'm
  sure somebody else can come up with something less expensive!]

Speed Doubler
-------------
  By Jake Peters, MacSupport <[e-mail]>
  <http://www.shore.net/~jhp/jakehome.html>

  At MacWorld Boston I was given the full demo of SpeedDoubler by a
  Connectix staff member.  He demonstrated the use of the program
  in two situations: PPC and non PPC.  I have tried the program in
  both situations and will add my comments as well.

  1) PPC-This is what the program was really meant for.  Emulation
  speed is increased and repetitive tasks are GREATLY increased due
  to the smart caching.  This is the demo I saw: Two computers with
  a FileMaker database with 1000 records unsorted.  One computer w/
  SpeedDoubler and one with out.  The one with SpeedDoubler (SD)
  was almost 2x as fast as the non-SD computer in sorting all the
  records.  Then the sort command was issued a second time.  The SD
  computer was 3x to 4x faster since it was smart enough to
  remember that it had recently performed the same task and already
  had the recompiled PPC code in cache.  SD also works to speed up
  copying and emptying the trash.

  First, copying goes much faster w/ SD.  But the real advantage is
  that you can copy up to three things at once and you can even
  copy in the background!!.  If you click in the finder while
  copying you will notice the absence of the little beep because
  you are allowed to do other finder commands while copying.  You
  can also click on a little button in the copy window and detailed
  info about each copy in progress will be displayed: megabytes
  left to transfer and estimated time until completion.

  SD also speeds up the emptying of the trash and has another great
  feature, in the normal empty trash warning (if you did not
  de-select that option in the Trash Get-Info window), you can
  expand the window and see a list of things that are to be
  deleted.  You can individually select items you want to delete if
  there is something in the trash that you do not want to be
  deleted now.   There are also two options at the bottom,
  Completely erase files (security erase) and delete locked files.
  If you choose to completely erase files, the emptying will take
  longer, but for security reasons, the files will not only be
  deleted but written over so they cannot be recovered.  The other
  option simply replaces the option-empty trash command that lets
  you delete locked files.

  The other component of the software is a cache that is for your
  hard drive.  Access Doubler, as it is called, in some way uses
  your drive cache to receive huge performance enhancements over
  the regular system cache.

  In my testing on PowerMacs SD holds true to its claims.  You can
  test your computer with MacBench when the software is enabled and
  when it is not to see the difference.  I did find that sometimes
  there were a few bugs with the software that did not get worked
  out even after Connectix's rep told me they tested the software
  for 9 months and found NO bugs.  But nothing is perfect.  The
  bugs I found at first were the random kind of system freezes
  which have now succeeded.

  2) Non PPC (68k).  I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SD for these computers.
  First only two parts of the program are installed on 68k Macs,
  the copy and trash doubler and the drive access doubler.  The
  emulator doubler for obvious reasons is automatically not
  installed.  But, even with the other two components I did not see
  a good enough speed increase to justify all the bugs.  Connectix
  specifies that SD will only run on 030's and 040's.  I ran it on
  a IIvx (030) and noticed that my system crashes were up 50%.
  Also the program was unreliable since sometimes the copy command
  would use SD's new Speed Copy and sometimes it would use the
  regular finder Copy.  On 040's I found the same bugs.  I think
  that this program should be used for PPC's only since the main
  feature, the emulator enhancer, does not even work on non-PPC
  machines.

  I would also like to point out that there is an incompatibility
  problem reported in SD's documentation w/ Visioneer's PaperPort
  OCR software.  In contact with Visioneer, they said that the
  problem would be solved, where if SD loads the PaperPort software
  does not, if you force the PaperPort software to load before the
  SD software.  I have not tested this solution yet to see if it
  works, but you can try it.

  So, if you have a PowerMac, I would say GET SpeedDoubler, because
  their emulator is even faster than Apple's new dynamic emulator
  found in the new PowerMacs.  But I would not buy SpeedDoubler
  with the intention of using it on 68k Macs.

  [Several folks with non-Power Macs told me they wouldn't have
  bought Speed Doubler if they had known then what they know now.
  They just didn't see much improvement.]

Online User Groups
------------------
  By Dave Kramer, SJAUG club secretary/webmaster
  <[e-mail]>

  Just wanted to get a plug in for our user group, since you're
  asking.

  The South Jersey Apple/Mac Users Group (SJAUG) has a web site at:

http://www.voicenet.com/~reeltime/SJAUG.html

  There's a nice collection of interesting and informative articles
  there, including our obsessed fans' view of Myst, a feature on
  mild color-blindness' effect on Swoop! game from Ambrosia, and
  the CyberSpots series -- five articles on getting the most out of
  your Mac on the Internet. Topics include Mailing Lists, Files You
  Need, Net Surf, How to Become a Net Legend (Netiquette), and more.

  The CyberSpot series is hyperlinked but, alas, I haven't had time
  to keep it up as well as I should. I corrected a few outdated
  links last month when the sites informed me that they had moved.
  If anyone has time to kick the tires, please let me know if other
  links need fixing! I have been a busy beaver with my full-time
  job, developing for cc:Browser (http://www.faulkner.com/)

  and writing freelance for publications that pay, so I haven't
  given CyberSpots the love and care it deserves.

  Needless to say, there's information on our club's meeting place,
  our FirstClass BBS (sorry, no Telnet yet), and other
  administrivia. Other clubs take note: We've started a vendor
  rewards program where we offer a free mini-review and hyperlink
  to any company that demos at our meetings. So far, there's only
  one entry, but we're lining up vendors fast!

LOL Newsletter
--------------
  By Mark Brooks, Editor, LOL Newsletter <[e-mail]>

  I just visited your web site for the first time.  I noticed that
  you have a place for listing other Mac e-zines and I wondered if
  you would list ours there.  We have been publishing the LOL
  Newsletter for almost 8 months now and have just set up our web
  site.

http://rampages.onramp.net/~rtfm

  Please stop by and give us a look.

  [I'm certainly glad to help-out other Mac-oriented e-newsletters!
  LOL stands for "Lubbock OnLine," and it appears to be a
  newsletter that's in fancy Web-format.  I think Mac*Chat's
  readers would find it interesting and worth adding to a Hot List.]

Jaz Drive
---------
  By Kass Johns, Electronic Publishing Systems Integrator
  <[e-mail]> <http://www2.csn.net/~kassj>

  In the Mac*Chat#086/17-Aug-95, in reference to Iomega's new 1Gb
  removable drive...

  The actual name of Iomega's 1GB removable drive is Jaz (changed
  from the working name: Viper). It is winchester hard disk drive
  technology (not the plastic platters in traditional Iomega
  drives--Bernoulli & Zip). The prices quoted in your article (less
  than $600 for drive, around $100 per cartridge), are accurate.

  The Jaz drives will be available from ProMAX Technology
  (http://www.scsidisk.com/) in late September 95. ProMAX will also
  be selling a Jaz Array (RAID) drive, suitable for high-end video
  and prepress uses. They have data sheets with benchmark tests
  available. (I am not an employee of ProMAX, but am a big fan of
  their founder, Charles McConathy--original founder of MicroNet
  and the world's foremost SCSI expert!) The ProMAX site also has a
  great benchmark test of PPC/Photoshop/Disk Access.

  -------

  By [e-mail]

  Just thought you'd like to know that Iomega's Jaz (not Viper)
  drive IS available, pretty much this very second.

  I spotted it way in the back of the October MacUser, being
  offered by Mediastore (800/555-5551).

  I just called them and found that the drives won't be available
  until September, but they've got a thousand on order and are
  third in line to get 'em. So book now to avoid the disappointment.

  BTW, Mediastore is one of the few places on the planet that
  actually have physical possession of Zip Drives! I just got a Zip
  of my very own!!!

  (I understand someone in England is claiming to own the Holy
  Grail, but I'm not that impressed - Zips are very hard to come
  by!)

  BTW, you made some noises about paid subscriptions, but were too
  diffident to hint at where payment might be sent. I'd attach $10
  to this document right now, but I can't figure out how to convert
  it into BinHEX. (I keep pushing the bill into the computer slot,
  but nothing happens! I never have this problem with ATMs...)

Favorite Freeware - Filelist, Yet Again
---------------------------------------
  By [e-mail] (Hans Gillijns)

  In response to Mac*Chat#086/17-Aug-95:

  FileList+ is really a great utility. I use it all the time to
  catalog my cd-roms and disks. And it does its job at the speed of
  a train.

  The "Sort Files by path"-bug is indeed rather annoying. I didn't
  know this bug was only introduced with the latest beta release
  1.0b21, but then again, you won't find an older version on
  on-line archives anymore, as you already indicated. Sometimes, I
  really do need to have the list (re)sorted by pathname (when you
  scan a volume or folder, the list is initially already sorted by
  pathname).

  I found a trick to get the list sorted by pathname again, quite
  by accident. Perhaps it's a bit laborious, but it works. Here it
  is:

  1) Select "Sort Files by selected (& last)"

  2) Select a file in the list (any file will do)

  3) Delete this file (backspace) and choose: Delete File Records
  from List

  4) UNdelete this file immediately! (Edit - Undelete Files)

  And voila, you'll have your list sorted by path!

Mac And Telephony
-----------------
  By [e-mail]

  Many apps are available for Windows to interface with phone
  systems...eg AT&T advertises windows apps in their sourcebook.

  Why don't I see similar products for the Mac? Are there system
  constraints, have people stopped writing for the Mac, or am I
  missing something?

  [Actually, I have been deeply impressed by MegaPhone, which comes
  in a limited form with the Apple Geoport Adaptor these days.  If
  you order the full, unlimited version of the program along with
  various other software components, (I can't think of the names at
  the moment, but the program WILL offer to sell 'em to you) you'll
  have a real whizbang system.  Your Mac  becomes a NICE
  speaker-phone, hot-shot dialer, and up to 99 voice-mail boxes,
  and you can send and receive faxes without having to do anything
  wierd.  Your Mac automatically distinguishes between incoming
  voice calls and faxes.  Two thumbs up!  After re-reading your
  note, I'm wondering what phone system you meant.]

Filtertop
---------
  By [e-mail] (Patrick Hoepfner)

  Freeware product of the year (or three).

  I propose that Freeware product of the year award be given to
  FilterTop and the programming group achievement award go to
  TopSoft.  You talked about "Being Part Of A Community".  Well,
  Stephen Jovanovic <[e-mail] started a little community
  of developers to build an application that is way cool, and he
  pulled it off!!  It took 3 years but it was worth it!

  FilterTop will allow you to do some of that text and file munging
  that Unix wizards were always able to do (pipe the contents of
  one tool into another) that isn't available in a GUI.  UNTIL NOW
  THAT IS!

  I'll let you read it for yourself at the following address:

    <http://www.topsoft.org/

  FilterTop is available as:

  <ftp://ftp.topsoft.org//Visitors/FilterTop/FilterTop-1.0b1.promo.sit

  [I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this software - Anybody
  want to evaluate it for me?]

Adobe Liquidators
-----------------
  By [e-mail] (Randall R. Boss)

  With a touch of trepidation I decided to try out the Adobe
  Liquidators group that was described in Mac*Chat to get the
  latest version of Premier.  Now that I have it in hand I can only
  say that these guys are terrific! I got friendly and courteous
  phone support as we went through the process and got prompt
  attention in getting my mailed registration number from them and
  product from Adobe. I can heartily recommend this group to anyone
  for their service, attention, and great prices!

  P.S. Amen to your editorial on being part of a community. I
  consider myself to be 'conservative' for whatever that means
  these days ;) and feel that in this electronic medium we come as
  close to what the founding fathers in the US were striving for
  (as well as many other great visionaries, before and after, and
  throughout the world). The real challenge is in taking this
  'faceless equality' and bringing it out into the physical world
  and put a real face on it. The people we interact with on-line
  are not, and have never been, just 'ghosts in the machine'. We
  need to remember that.

Donations And Copyright
-----------------------
  By Rodney J. Decker, Asst. Prof./NT, Calvary Theological Seminary
  <[e-mail]

    [I can't say the idea of allowing ANY outside influence
    completely appeals to me, but I will gladly pass your request
    along.  Folks reading this should also look at the shelves above
    their Mac - Are there older versions of Word, Illustrator, or
    whatever that you don't use any more? Those manuals and
   diskettes are badly needed by schools and every other kind
    of charity.]

  Whoops, before you suggest donating old copies, be aware that it
  violates the license agreement. I doubt you want to stick your
  neck out that far in a public forum. You can't give away an older
  copy of a program that's been updated. You can only do so it you
  give all copies of the program, including disks and manuals, and,
  to be safe, a signed transfer of ownership.

  Having said that, I teach at a private, non-profit school with no
  federal money that would be glad for legal donations of hardware
  and software.

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
-------------------------------------
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============== ____ ================================================
Tony Lindsey   \ _/__  Free, weekly e-mailed Mac-oriented newsletter
Mac*Chat Editor \X  /  [e-mail], http://www.cts.com/~xxltony/
================= \/ ===============================================