From: The Info-Mac Moderators
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Subject: Info-Mac Digest V14 #192
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--Info-Mac-Digest
Info-Mac Digest Tue, 20 Aug 96 Volume 14 : Issue 192
Today's Topics:
[*] Fonts Manager 3.6.1
[*] TidBITS#341/19-Aug-96
**Attention** Free Macintosh E-zine!
20k Minimum File Size (5 msgs)
[A] 20k Minimum File Size
[A] FPU for Performa with 68040LC - Possible?
[A] Power Macs have last generation chips - why?
Apple Mouse Pad Horror Stories
apple ROM difficulties
Aurora 4.0
Desktop Printing 2.0 Advice
Dragon Drop under 7.5.3?
Educational purchase or the best prices
Info-Mac Digest V14 #191 (2 msgs)
Microtek ms-300a scanner driver card.
MS Word 5 and Text to Speach
Netscape Java code in 3.0 release needs fixing (C)
Open Trasport help!
Performa 5200CD Grief
Powerbook 520c Screen Problems
QT Movie Copyright Info
Question about 6200CD
question about using "@" on German Mac keyboard
Rumors about the SCSI chain and booting?
SCSI Probe 4.3 Problems
SE POWER SUPPLY
Stand clear of PSInet!!
Stuffit Magic Menu (A)
System 7.5.3 Revision 2 Creeping System Folder
What's with Davis mirror site?
Why binhexed files? (r)
Windows '95 on a Mac - alternatives?
ZMac exclusives
The Info-Mac Network operates by the volunteer efforts of:
Gordon Watts, Liam Breck, Adam C. Engst, Demitri Muna, Mike O'Bryan
The Info-Mac Archive is available at 50 public and private sites around
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 23:40:08 -0500
From: (Ed Hopkins)[email protected]
Subject: [*] Fonts Manager 3.6.1
=46onts Manager=81 is similar to the System 7.5.x Extensions Manager, but it=
is
more like a Desk Accessory. It allows the enabling and disabling of font
suitcases and printer fonts in 'Sets'. It supports export of 'Sets', import
of saved 'Sets', Balloon Help, and a Help Topics system. Unlike other
utilities, it works on ALL Macs with System 7.1 or later, including 7.5.3,
without modifying the NORMAL startup and operation of your computer.
Thousands worldwide running all kinds of Macs have switched to Fonts
Manager to get 'Up & Running'.
NEW in 3.6.1:
- fixed a minor bug in the Open 'Sets' (import) routine
NEW in 3.6:
- Save 'Sets' for export purposes (great for site-license standardization
of sets, or to upgrade beyond version 3.6 without losing time invested in
creating sets -> Apologies for not bringing this back sooner!)
- Open 'Sets' from previous export (this is the companion to the Save
function) - command-period disabled for quit (only command-Q or Quit from
the file menu works)
- cleaned up quite a bit of internal code for speed
NEW in 3.5.2:
- NEW progress bars (no more guessing what's happening)
- faster launch
- ignores extra folders in Fonts folder, instead of just hanging or
crashing (although the Fonts folder should seldom have folders inside it,
I've now allowed for that, just in case you've got a specific requirement,
like with some Japanese fonts, or in case that's part of your font
management strategy)
Available at
,
, AOL
(Computing/Software Libraries/Desktop Publishing or Software Search).
Shareware fee is $10 for Fonts Manager (FREE to registered users of ALL
earlier versions). $More for the Mac OS 8 version when available (save
time/hassle - pay now). Site licenses available at SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED
PRICES. Inquire within...
=46or more information, please read the Fonts Manager(tm) Read Me file
enclosed, or visit my Web page:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/1870/
[Archived as /info-mac/font/util/fonts-manager-361.hqx; 157K]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 18:00:25 -0700
From: [email protected] (TidBITS Editors)
Subject: [*] TidBITS#341/19-Aug-96
TidBITS#341/19-Aug-96
If your life revolves around new software, this week TidBITS takes you for
a spin with information on the latest version of Netscape Navigator,
Corel's first update to the Mac version of WordPerfect, and an in-depth
look at the WYSIWYG Web authoring tool Claris Home Page. Also, we bring you
news about a beta test of a new daily Macintosh journal, and an essay from
Adam on how your Mac could better relate to your data.
Topics:
MailBITS/19-Aug-96
Corel Updates WordPerfect
The Database Returns
Homing In on Home Page
[Archived as /info-mac/per/tb/tidbits-341.etx; 30K]
------------------------------
Date: 17 Aug 1996 02:50:09 GMT
From: [email protected] (Beno)
Subject: **Attention** Free Macintosh E-zine!
Get a free subscription to one of the fastest growing Macintosh e-zines on
the Internet! Also check out some hot links and fresh news! Check out
http://digiserve.com/roadstop. The e-zine is entitled "Internet Road
Stop".
--
-magnum-
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 04:05:04 -0400
From: [email protected] ("Robert E. Winston")
Subject: 20k Minimum File Size
At 6:08 PM -0400 8/14/96, Chris Collins wrote:
> I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
> clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k.
> Could someone explain to me why this happens
> and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
The Cliff's Notes version:
The max number of files on any volume is 65,536. The larger the volume, the
larger the minimum allocation block - the minimum amount of space that any
file, no matter how small, occupies.
A 1.2 gig drive has a minimum allocation of 20k.
All the gory techie details can be found at Apple's searchable Tech Info
Library:
http://til.info.apple.com/til/til.html
The specific article is:
http://cgi.info.apple.com/cgi-bin/read. ... ntosh!Soft
ware/System!and!Finder!Issues/HFS!Information/Mac!!File!Sys!Specs!-!Terms
________
Robert E. Winston [email protected]
--> New address. Update your Christmas card list
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 11:37:29 -0500
From: chaz
Subject: 20k Minimum File Size
>I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
>clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k.
>Could someone explain to me why this happens
>and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
When disks are formatted, they are divided up into a bunch of "allocation
blocks"; an allocation block is the smallest quantum of disk space the
system can use.
The Mac file system limits any volume to a maximum of 65536 [or so]
allocation blocks, so as you format larger volumes, the allocation block
size goes up. The alloation block size can be determined by:
capacity
---------- = allocation block size
65536
So, as capacity goes up, so does allocation block size.
Further, one allocation block will be used for each of the data and
resource forks, so if your application stores information in both forks,
then the smallest file it can create will be 2 allocation blocks in size.
What this means is that a 1-byte text file with a few bytes of resource
data will take up, on my 500Mb boot disk, 18K [9K allocation block size].
On a 1Gb drive, this same file would take up something like 40K.
OK, so what can you do about this?
The most transparent way to improve this is to partition your hard disk.
Smaller partitions will give you smaller allocation block sizes.
You'll need to come up with a balance between efficient use of disk space
and ease of use; you can get really efficient at the cost of having lots
of disk partitions, which may or may not be a problem.
For example, you can get real efficient by partitioning your hard disk
into a raft of 40Mb partitions, but then you'll have problems working
with big images in Photoshop, since you wan't have any more than 40Mb of
scratch storage available...and so on.
chazl
08.19.96
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 15:23:20 -0400
From: Michael Ward
Subject: 20k Minimum File Size
>I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
>clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k. I heard that
>this was something that only occured in Power Macs and then it was going to
>be fixed in MacOS 8. Then I heard that Apple had scrapped that plan to
>speed up the MacOS 8 release. Could someone explain to me why this happens
>and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
>
>Any suggestions appreciated.
>
>Thanks!
>
>-Chris Collins
Chris,
Assuming that you are referring to file sizes as recorded on a hard disk,
David Pogue and Joseph Schorr make reference to this in Chapter 8 page 253
on the Macworld Mac and Power Mac Secrets, Third Edition. They point out
that every hard drive is divided by approximately the same number of
blocks. In their example "An 80MB hard drive's blocks may be 2K eack: a
1-gig drive's blockc are 32K; and so on". Therefore, if you save a 4K file
to a 1-gig hard drive the file size will be a minimum of 32K regardless.
The answer would be to partition your hard drive into smaller volumes.
By the way, if you don't have a copy of the Macworld Mac and Power Mac
Secrets, Third Edition get one. Each Edition gets better and better and
their column in Macworld is excellent as well.
Michael Ward
Production Head Electrician/Vari*lite Op
"Miss Saigon NY"
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 21:49:23 +0100
From: [email protected] (Thomas Kahn)
Subject: 20k Minimum File Size
Chris Collins asked:
>I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
>clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k. I heard that
>this was something that only occured in Power Macs and then it was going to
>be fixed in MacOS 8. Then I heard that Apple had scrapped that plan to
>speed up the MacOS 8 release. Could someone explain to me why this happens
>and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
***
Hi Chris!
I saw your question concerning the size of your files in the latest
Info-Mac Digest. You said you thought it was something that occured only on
PowerMacs, but my guess is that it is hard disk related.
The Mac file system divides up the disk space it has to keep track of on
each volume into allocation blocks. For technical reasons, it can deal with
a maximum of 65536 blocks per disk. That means that the size of each block
varies, depending on the size of the disk. On a hard drive that holds less
than 60MB, each allocation block occupies 1K. On an 80MB drive, they're
1.5K each, on a 300MB drive they are 5K each, on a 2GB drive they will be
32K, and so on.
Now, the Mac permits only one file in one allocation block; two files
cannot share the same block. So, no matter how small your file is, it will
still occupy one whole block on your drive (in your case an allocation
block of 20K). The solution to this problem is partitioning your large hard
disks. Partitioning means dividing a single PHYSICAL disk into two or more
LOGICAL volumes. Eventhough you only have one physical drive, the mac will
think you have two or more separate disks, and each of these logical
volumes will have 65536 allocation blocks of its own. By dividing a 1GB
drive into four 250MB logical volumes you reduce the block size from 16K to
4K.
If you have a drive which is smaller than 300MB, partitioning will it will
not increase space savings that much. But if you have a 1.2GB drive it's a
very good idea. I myself have partitioned my 1.2GB drive into three logical
volumes of roughly 400MB each. There is no optimal partition size, but I
wouldn't recommend making a volume smaller than 200MB.
As far as I know, Apples disk utilities do not give you the option to
partition your drives into several Macintosh volumes. But most other disk
utilities do. I use a program called Drive7 Lite. It's cheap and it has
never caused me any trouble, so I highly recommend it. There is one problem
though with partitioning, and that is the fact that partitioning a drive
also means erasing all its content. So if you want to partition, you must
first make a back-up of all the files on your drive. (I say "problem"
because it is a very time consuming process.)
If you don't want to, or can't partition your drive, there is an alternate
solution. Try compressing all your small files into a single archive with
CompactPro or StuffIt. That way the small files will be compacted into one
big file, and therefore fill up all of the space in the allocation blocks
that they occupy.
Good Luck,
Thomas Kahn
[email protected]
http://www.roundhouse.se
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 21:50:10 -0500
From: "Wayne C. Morris"
Subject: 20k Minimum File Size
Chris Collins wrote:
>I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
>clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k. I heard that
>this was something that only occured in Power Macs and then it was going to
>be fixed in MacOS 8. Then I heard that Apple had scrapped that plan to
>speed up the MacOS 8 release. Could someone explain to me why this happens
>and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
Yes, there is a way around this limitation.
The limitation in the MacOS is due to the way it allocates space on disks.
Each disk is divided into "allocation blocks". There's a limit of 65536
blocks, so the larger the drive, the larger the blocks have to be. A 512Mb
drive would use 8K per block, while a 1024Mb drive would use 16K per block.
To make the blocks smaller, you have to get more allocation blocks on your
drive -- and to do that, you can "partition" your drive. Partitioning a
drive is like turning it into two or more smaller drives, called
partitions, and each partition has its own 65536-block limit. Each
partition will appear on your desktop as if it were a separate drive.
If you divided a 1.25Gb hard drive into 5 equal-sized partitions, you'd get
256K per partition and 4K per allocation block. Or you could divide it
into one 1024K partition (16K per block) and one 256Kb partition (4K per
block). Of course there are many more possible combinations.
For information on how to partition your hard drive, run the "Drive Setup"
program, call up the Drive Setup Guide (under the "?" help menu), and
search for "partition".
WARNING -- Partitioning a drive will erase all files and programs stored on
it! Before you partition a drive, you'll have to back up everything that
you want to keep. If you want to partition your startup drive, you'll also
have to restart from a different drive (e.g. the MacOS CD-ROM) and
reinstall the MacOS on the first partition after you're done.
Hope this helps.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 18:49:53 -0700
From: kee nethery
Subject: [A] 20k Minimum File Size
>I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
>clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k. I heard that
>this was something that only occured in Power Macs and then it was going to
>be fixed in MacOS 8. Then I heard that Apple had scrapped that plan to
>speed up the MacOS 8 release. Could someone explain to me why this happens
>and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
When you formatted your hard drive it was split into a bunch of blocks.
Each block is the same size. In your case they are 20K. There is a maximum
number of blocks and you probably have a huge hard drive and thus when you
divide it's volume by the maximum number of blocks you get around a 20K
block size.
Each file occupies one or more blocks. A 1 byte file would go into a 20K
block and that would be it. A 21K file would go into 2 blocks. The file
system keeps track of where files are by the block IDs.
The only way to reduce the minimum file size is to reduce the block size.
You could reformat your hard drive and specify a smaller block size but if
it's a huge drive, the max number of blocks times the smaller block size
would leave a huge chunk of your drive that cannot be accessed. That would
not solve your problem.
The only real way to solve your problem right now is to partition your hard
drive. Turn it into two or more smaller volumes. If you made two volumes on
the same drive of equal size, their block size would be 10K. That would do
what you want. If you have lots of big files and lots of small tiny files,
you might want to make a small volume with a very small block size 512
bytes and keep the larger volume with the larger block size for megabyte
files.
Kee Nethery
Kagi Shareware
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 14:23:32 -0400
From: [email protected] (Andrew Murray)
Subject: [A] FPU for Performa with 68040LC - Possible?
Software FPU is shareware and is probably on shareware.com. You can also
buy an FPU upgrade card I think. Try Software FPU first though
. Howeverif you don't have a fast enough processor, RealAudio may not work anyway.
Hope this is helpful.
Andrew Murray
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 10:38:24 -0400
From: Romulo Romero
Subject: [A] Power Macs have last generation chips - why?
Michael Silverstein wrote:
>am put off by the fact that the 603e in
>the powerbook is not the latest generation of chips but rather comparable
>to the 601.
>Why are the chips in the powerbooks a generation behind? Is the
>difference significant? When will the new generation be released?
Dear Michael:
While I am not an expert, I hope you can appreciate my comments.
1) I beleive you are incorrect when you say that the 603e is comparable
to the 601. I think the 603e is faster, although I would look at the results
fs
>From MacBench to be sure.
2) Haveing said that, I do not think the 603e chip is a generation behind. The
reason why I b.
The reason why they are used in Powerbooks is their lower power consumption
when
compare
when compared to the 604e. I have not seen any figures, but I think a
Powerbook with a 604 would last very little off battery power.
As for when will the next generation become available, who knows?
Romulo Romero
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 96 12:02:36 PST
From: "Dean Tomasula"
Subject: Apple Mouse Pad Horror Stories
Hey all you Digesters-
I hope all those free Apple mouse pad horror stories are because Apple has some
real problems to take care of these days and not because their customer service
is deteriorating.
When I bought my PowerBook 190cs in January, I sent in the card and checked off
the MacWorld subscription, even though I already had a subscription to the
magazine. A few weeks later I got a nice letter from Apple saying they
appreciated my support by buying their product and subscribing to the magazine
and they extended my subscription by six months for free.
I also sent in my 190cs for repair under the recall, even though I experienced
none of the problems others had. Apple fixed everything anyway. They replaced
the motherboard and replaced the AC plug. It works like a charm.
Let's hope they keep up the good work and get back on track soon.
Dean Tomasula
[email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 08 Jun 1904 01:15:11 +0100
From: Mahdad Parsi
Subject: apple ROM difficulties
Greetings,
I don't know if you can help me, I'm a high school science teacher in
New Jersey. I received e-mail from my tech person at my school this
morning that informed me that we have 4 Apple 6100/60 logic boards
that are missing their ROM. Can ROM be purchased, if so from whom? He
is concerned that he will have to spend big $$ to replace the logic
boards, but he hopes that the ROM if available, should not be a major
expense.
Please help!! My e-mail is: [email protected] (do not hit reply to the
above address for this message!)
Thanks for any advice or assistance!
Al Sills
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 20:05:27 -0400
From: [email protected] (Mustafa Ziyalan)
Subject: Aurora 4.0
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 14:26:17 +0000
From: Robert L Skidmore
>I downloaded from info-mac a copy of aurora 4.0. When I double click on
>the icon I get the upper left portion of the window with the size box,
>the zoom box and the scroll bars out of the window on the right. How do
>I expand the window to make it useable? I have a Macintosh Performa
>475. Thanks.
I had the same problem on my Performa 630 and asked Mr. Pinkerton, the author
of the program, by e-mail for advice. Below is the answer he kindly e-mailed
the next day.
I hope this helps...
>Please d/l Aurora 4.1 from my web page (below). Version 4.0 has this
>problem on small screens. Sorry for the trouble!
>
>You will need to do a "Save Link As" from the popup menu on the URL to d/l
>the file. Then drop the .hqx file on StuffitExpander and it will do the
>rest.
>
>Mike Pinkerton
>[email protected] http://www.cc.gatech.edu/people/home/mpinkert
Mustafa Ziyalan
[email protected]
http://maxwell.njit.edu/merhaba/dir/mziyalan/
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 08:25:23 -0500
From: [email protected] (Peter John Roberts)
Subject: Desktop Printing 2.0 Advice
As installed via the Laserwriter 8.4 installer or via the Desktop Printing=
2.0 installer, Apple's new desktop printing software may exhibit anomalous =
behavior.
In particular, it is possible for print jobs to be placed in their=
appropriate queues and then stay there without ever being transmitted to=
the corresponding printer.
The solution is to increase the memory allocated to Desktop PrintMonitor,=
which is an application, and which is located in the System Folder's=
Extensions folder.
This is done in the usual way: Do a Get Info on Desktop PrintMonitor and=
then change the Preferred Size.
I recommend that you change the Preferred Size to the value given in the=
Suggested Size, 175K, and go up from there if you continue to experience=
the aforementioned behavior.
The problem arises because Apple's installers choose a Preferred Size that=
may be too small. For me, an installation on a Quadra 840av produced=
desktop printing software that worked fine, but an installation on a=
Performa 6300 produced software that exhibited the anomalous behavior 99%=
of the time.
Pete Roberts
MacPartners Development [email protected]
(617)332-5082 (Voice) (617)965-7425 (Fax)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 11:00:40 +0000
From: "Paul L. Moses"
Subject: Dragon Drop under 7.5.3?
When I made the jump from 7.1 to 7.5.3 a few months ago, I lost
Dragon Drop in the transition, or so it seemed. On my Centris 650,
it didn't seem to work under the new system software.
I've found I really miss the utility of being able to click on a folder
and get a pop up list of its contents. Is there a workaround to make
Dragon Drop function, or is there another utility that does the same
thing?
TIA,
Paul
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 14:54:48 -0400
From: [email protected] (Ian Swett, an all-purpose ABiC intern)
Subject: Educational purchase or the best prices
I am looking for a new Powermac or Power Computing model, and I was wondering
if anyone had suggestions about the best prices. I am a student, so I am
eligible for educational discounts if there are any retailers that do that.
Just so you know, I am looking for the best CPU I can get in the $1800-2000
range.
Ian Swett
email: [email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 19:47:02 -0400
From: [email protected] (Pat Ellis)
Subject: Info-Mac Digest V14 #191
>Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:08:10 -0500
>From: Chris Collins
>Subject: 20k Minimum File Size
>
>I noticed that all of my many clippings are atleast 20k even if the
>clipping is 4,000 bytes or to be exact anyting under 20k. I heard that
>this was something that only occured in Power Macs and then it was going to
>be fixed in MacOS 8. Then I heard that Apple had scrapped that plan to
>speed up the MacOS 8 release. Could someone explain to me why this happens
>and any suggestions on how i can get around it.
>
>Any suggestions appreciated.
>
>Thanks!
>
>-Chris Collins
>
The *problem* is not related only to PowerMacs. It has to do with
the Mac's inefficient method of allocating disk space. The larger the hard
drive, the larger the allocation blocks. If you are using a 1.2GB hard
drive (only one partition) then this is normal. That is why most people
will create multiple partitions - to reduce the minimum allocation block
size. Of course, it doesn't always work with some files. An example is
small text files created by apps such as ClarisWorks and SimpleText (this
info is courtesy of John Chapman).
*Most Mac files are comprised of two forks - the data fork and the resource
*fork. Each fork takes up a minimum of one block; unfortunately, they cannot
*be combined into a single block.
*
*Thus, any file that does have both forks takes up twice the minumum file
size.
*
*SimpleText files contain resource info for the font style info and other
*such stuff. Try editing a file in a plain text editor (or alternately strip
*off the resource fork) and you should see the file size drop to 7k.
*
With Microsoft Word and WriteNow (for example) this is not the
case. They are the same as the minimum file size. This can make a huge
difference - especially if you have a large number of small documents.
Pat Ellis
>------------------------------
>Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:59:01 +0100
>From: [email protected] (Joel Elias)
>Subject: [Q] FPU for Performa with 68040LC - Possible?
>
>I have a Performa 476 with a 68040LC chip. I've noticed that both RealAudio
>and Shockwave require FPU's for audio. Is it possible to add an FPU
>co-processor chip to my motherboard? I've also heard of something called
>"SoftFPU". I assume that this is a software FPU emulator. Would this work?
>If so, is it a commercial product, shareware or freeware? Where di I find
>it?
>
>TIA - Joel
>
>Joel H. Elias - Pittsford, NY
>[email protected]
SoftwareFPU is just that - a software emulation of FPU functions.
It is shareware and is posted, I believe, somewhere in the Info-Mac
Archives. There are a few applications that it does not work with but I'm
not aware of a problem with RealAudio and ShockWave. Also, as it is
software emulation, do not expect much in terms of performance - it's main
purpose is to allow apps that require an FPU to run.
Of course, the ideal solution would be to have the real thing. I
remember hearing of a company (sorry, cannot remember who) that sold full
blown 040 processors with the built-in FPU. I beleive the cost was
somewhere in the $200+ neighbourhood. You may be able to find such a
company advertising in various Mac magazines.
Pat Ellis
>------------------------------
>Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:06:32 -0400
>From: "William E. Colburn"
>Subject: Clean install
>
>Does the 7.5.3 CD now available allow a one-step clean install rather than
>the three steps with the updates.
If you are referring to the *retail* version, the answer is yes,
Apple has finally put everything together in a single 7.5.3 release.... at
least for now.
Pat Ellis
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 20:45:44 -0400
From: [email protected] (Pat Ellis)
Subject: Info-Mac Digest V14 #191
>Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 09:12:48 -0400 (EDT)
>From: The Silversteins
>Subject: Power Macs have last generation chips - why?
>
[stuff deleted]
>My most intensive tasks include photoshop for image analysis and
>mathematical simulations and I am put off by the fact that the 603e in
>the powerbook is not the latest generation of chips but rather comparable
>to the 601.
>
>Why are the chips in the powerbooks a generation behind? Is the
>difference significant? When will the new generation be released?
>
>Thanks in advance for any tidbits and hints that can help me in this
>decision.
>
>Michael Silverstein
>Materials Engineering
>Technion
>[email protected]
Actually, you are not entirely correct. The 603e (replacing the
original 603) is a new processor, as is the 604e - both, more recent than
any 601 PPC. In fact, until the *next generation* of PPC chips ship (such
as the G3 sometime in mid to late 1997, and the G4 in 1999), Apple - and
now Power Computing, are utilizing both the 603e and 604e processors in
their machines.
The difference can be significant for sure. Reports are that a
604e will outpace a similiar 603e by up to 50%. Of course, that is because
the 604e was built for high end performance, where the 603e was meant to be
cheap (for entry line models), low heat and low energy (necessary for
PowerBooks). Of course, there's more to computing than just pure processor
speed. Never forget that amount of physical RAM, secondary cache, bus
speed, hard drive etc... all play a role in efficiency.
Pat Ellis
BTW... I would never want to run Photoshop on a Powerbook to begin
with. If you are going to be doing some serious graphics work, I'd
consider the 7600 (with a secondary cache).
>------------------------------
>Date: 16 Aug 1996 20:38:10 GMT+0100
>From: [email protected]
>Subject: Question about 6200CD
>
>Dear digest reader,
>
>I have three questions and I hope that someone will be able to help me:
>
>1) I wonder if the cache level2 is direclty soldered on the motherboard on the
>Macintosh Performa 6200CD. My cache memory is damaged and Id like to know if I
> must replace the whole logic board;
The Cache comes in the form of a DIMM - not soldered. As for
replacing the logic board, it is only necessary if the 52xx/62xx reported
problems with the board. (The tester first checks the logic board, and
then the cache and reports the first problem that it finds - in other
words, if the board was defective, it would have been reported. The logic
board would then have been replaced as would the cache. If it only
reported a cache problem, then your logic board is fine).
>2) Someone told me that Macintosh Performa have slower serial ports than other
>(new) Macintosh models, and that the ports are limited to 80Kbps. Is it true?
Well, it doesn't have a Geoport so I suppose that is possible. Of
course, there were reported problems with the serial ports on the 52xx/62xx
line that may have been responsible. This I cannot say for sure.
>3) Can I use Open transport 1.1 on my Macintosh Performa 6200CD because I know
>that OT is NOT installed by default on PPC Performa series with the Update
>2.0.
> Do you think that these models can run OT if they have enough RAM or that
thes
>e macs are not able to run it at all? Is OT interesting for me (for Internet
us
>e only)?
I do not believe OT 1.1 works on the 52xx/62xx line. However, the
beta 6 release of Open Transport 1.1.1 (Apple archives under unsupported
Software) does. I must also say that it is a very stable beta (I
experienced more problems with 1.1 than with my present 1.1.1b6).
Obviously, the more RAM, the better. There is still a memory leak with it
(although I am beginning to think it's more application related) and it
will use/require an extra 300-400k of system memory due to it's use of
Shared Libraries. You may want to play around with it but if you have only
8MB of RAM, I'd recommend sticking with MacTCP...for now. The minor
glitches I've experienced have become tolerable since I've upgraded my
660AV to 16MB. With 8MB, I was frustrated.
Pat Ellis
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 06:50:30 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: Microtek ms-300a scanner driver card.
I am looking for a driver card called MS-PCE from Microtek to be used on an
old Microtek MS-300a scanner. Please someone give me a hint of where to find
such a card. Iam willing to trade or pay. Mark Weiss
Mark Weiss
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:16:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: "J. D. Sterling Babcock"
Subject: MS Word 5 and Text to Speach
To get Word 5 to do this, you need to get a plug in for it from Microsoft.
Its free and available on their ftp site (ftp.microsoft.com). They have
a cryptic naming system. You usually need to get the index and look it up
>From there. However, I have the reference below. As Brent Dombrowski
indicated: If I remember right, it was a rather nice addition. It would
allow you to choose the voice, the amount of inflection, and the rate
at which it read.
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/index.txt
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/MW0979.HQX for speech
Thanks to Brent Dombrowski for the pointer.
Sterling ([email protected])
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 22:59:02 -0400
From: "Don't Panic!"
Subject: Netscape Java code in 3.0 release needs fixing (C)
Dear Digest readers,
It seems that Netscape has made a mistake again. This time releasing
Netscape 3.0 for the Mac before all the bugs that were reported were
fixed. Apparantly the
Java_java_awt_font_dispose_stub gets stuck in memory.
>From being a C programmer, I can tell you that if a temporary
pointer doesn't get disposed of properly numerous problems can arise.
And so they did when I was done visiting Netscape's Java tour, and then
went to the Digester archive in the Netherlands. All that happened was
that the mouse button and keyboard input were not being received.
Nothing was downloading at the time, so I decided to bump myself into
MacsBug 6.5.3. It was there that I saw:
Java_java_awt_font_dispose_stub
sitting in the section above the prompt.
Not even quiting Netscape with an 'es' from MacsBug helped.
I was however, able to type 'rb' to reboot.
Wish there was somebody real from Netscape who is reading this letter.
Perhaps they could e-mail the digest when they fix this bug.
If it isn't a Netscape bug, somebody at Netscape made a demo that didn't
dispose of the font_stub properly.
Remember, when writing computer code that any pointer created with a
new() command has to be disposeof() ed.
I bet you the same is true of Java. Maybe the font_disposeof doesn't
properly implement a disposeof procedure on the Mac end. Anybody at
Netscape care to comment?
Sincerely,
[email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:41:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: David Roche
Subject: Open Trasport help!
Hi folks,
I have a question that I hope will have a simple answer...
where on the web can I find a site containing a list of what certain mysterious
extensions are for? (A/ROSE being the classic example)
I've been having mysterious freeze-ups (cursor freezes on upper left of
screen at boot-up)
and would like to safely weed out any unnecesary extensions... I've taken
all the
usual precautions.... re-installing system software,running Disk first aid
(Apple and Norton),
reinstalling the desktop,zapping the PRAM,trashing the finder and apple
menu items prefs
files...
but I can't run a conflict test,because the crashes are SORT of
random...about 1 in 6 startups
locks up...
If anyone can lead me to a good site with descriptions of extensions,I'd
appreciate it!
David Roche
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 20:51:34 -0600
From: [email protected] (Gordon M Moynes)
Subject: Performa 5200CD Grief
I have encountered a couple oddities recently.
I ran the diagnostic utility and found the cache was faulty and had it
replaced. The machine got a clean bill of health after a going over by the
Apple Dealer. I have 12 megs of Ram w. 7.5.3. Until this past week
everything has been fine. I have added nothing new other than the arrival
of two nieces who brought some Disney CD Roms. Since the use of them I get
a dialog box about ten times a day that says "The command could not be
completed due to insufficient memory. Quit some applications...etc." When
this occurs there are no CD's in the machine. If I try to access the "About
This Macintosh", open the Hard Drive, even open a folder it will show the
same dialog yet nothing other than the Finder is running.
I have tried Norton, DFA, as clean a "clean" install as Performa will allow
>From CD Rom yet soon after a Disney CD is used it repeats.
Last night I trashed the entire System Folder and re-installed everything.
Today I get the same dialog as well as whenever I try to bring any
application to the front the Finder then hides itself. This is totally new.
I am certain someone out there can brainstorm this for me and if nothing
else offer suggestions on troubleshooting techniques for this.
Thanks, Gord
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 14:54:03 -0400
From: [email protected] (Carl F. Muckenhirn)
Subject: Powerbook 520c Screen Problems
Hi, all
I'm running a 520c (NuPowr 117/8) 16/500, 7.5.3r2. Recently my screen has
started to actup. Running from the top of the screen to halfway down are a
series of 1 pixel wide stripes approximately 2 pixels apart in a sequence
of:
bgrbgrbgrbgrbgrbgrbg (b=blue, g=green, r=red)
This group of lines starts about 2/3 of the way over to the right of the
screen.
Called SOS-APPL and they suggested a loose connection. I"ve secured all I
can find and an wondering if anyone else has had this problem and can
provide pointers to the/a solution.
carl.
------------------------------
Date: 19 Aug 96 11:40:41 +0000
From: "Klaus.Kurt"
Subject: QT Movie Copyright Info
I'm working on a QTVR project and I'd like to enter copyright information
for the movies I'm creating. I'm using the free tools for movie creation
>From Apple (objtool, pantool and MoviePlayer 2.5). There is a menu option
in MoviePlayer to view copyright information, but I can't seem to find out
how to enter it.
If anyone knows how to enter the copyright information, please respond to
me at [email protected] and I'll post a summary for the digest.
Thanks.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 22:30:09 +0100
From: [email protected] (Thomas Kahn)
Subject: Question about 6200CD
Laurent, asked:
>Can I use Open transport 1.1 on my Macintosh Performa 6200CD because I know
>that OT is NOT installed by default on PPC Performa series with the Update
>2.0.
>Do you think that these models can run OT if they have enough RAM or that
>these
>macs are not able to run it at all? Is OT interesting for me
>(for Internet use only)?
Hi Laurent!
I saw you had a question about the Performa 6200 and Open Transport. Since
I own a Performa 6300 (practically the same machine) and have asked myself
the same questions recently, I thought I'd share with you some of the
information that I dug up from Apples archives.
This is Apples answer to the question: Why didn't Open Transport 1.1
support Power Macintosh 5200/5300/6200/6300 desktop computers?
***
Very late in the final quality assurance cycle of Open Transport 1.1, the
OT team was notified of a reproducible crash affecting some, but not all,
customers with Power Macintosh or Performa 5200/5300/6200/6300 desktop
computers. Rather than delay the release of OT 1.1 and System Update 2.0
(System 7.5.3) further - which both brought many significant improvements
to MacOS customers - the Performa, Open Transport, and System 7.5.3 teams
working together decided that the best alternative was to disable OT 1.1 on
these systems until the problem(s) were fully identified and an appropriate
solution could be implemented and tested.
After additional research, this problem was isolated as a hardware issue.
In response, Apple announced a Repair Extension program. Open Transport
1.1.1 - which includes Apple Shared Library Manager 2.0.1 - (re-)enables
Open Transport on these previously restricted MacOS systems. OT 1.1.1 now
includes a hardware test that runs at boot time. If OT is called for on a
system affected by the hardware problem, a new dialog alerts the user that
classic networking is being substituted, and directs them to consult their
Apple service provider for hardware service.
***
As you see, on paper there should be nothing stopping you from installing
Open Transport on your 6200; short of a hardware problem.
But this is Apples story. When I tried to install Open Transport on my
machine I experienced more system errors than usual, and I felt I really
didn't need Open Transport anyway. So I removed it. But don't be
discouraged; feel free to try it. After all, my system folder is anything
but nice and clean, and I suspect that some of the "custom stuff" that I
use might have caused the larger part of the system errors that occured
after I had installed Open Transport.
The question: "Is OT interesting for me?" is in fact one I ask myself.
Eventhough I have recieved Apples information on Open Transport, and read
some of it, I still haven't figured out what Open Transport is good for. I
think it speeds up networking and accessing the Internet over a network,
but other than that? Maybe someone else has a good answer to that question?
Best Regards,
Thomas Kahn
[email protected]
http://www.roundhouse.se
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 10:41:52 -0700
From: "Manish Gupta"
Subject: question about using "@" on German Mac keyboard
A German friend of mine could not send me email because he could not
find an "@" key on his keyboard.
Does anyone know how to generate this character on a Mac keyboard?
Thanks in advance
Manish
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 23:02:33 +0100
From: [email protected] (Thomas Kahn)
Subject: Rumors about the SCSI chain and booting?
I have a question about the SCSI chain:
Ever since I bought my first Mac, I've started up all the external SCSI
devices first, and then booted the computer. If you don't do this you might
damage the computer with a power surge.
Now I wonder if this rule is still valid? I heard somewhere that it's no
longer necessary to start up in this order. I was told that you could start
up an external SCSI device AFTER you had booted the computer and then run
an application, like SCSIProbe, to mount it on the desktop. And this was
supposed to be without any risks if you owned one of the newer models, like
mine (Performa 6300). But I don't really believe this rumor. Eventhough
someone else has been luckily spared from damaged motherboards, I'm not
willing to take the risk.
If anyone knows more about this, please tell me.
Thomas Kahn
[email protected]
http://www.roundhouse.se
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 12:23:13 -0700
From: [email protected] (Herb Kroemer)
Subject: SCSI Probe 4.3 Problems
I replaced trusty old SCSI Probe 3.5 with the recently uploaded version
4.3, and ran into the following problem:
Version 4.3 does not recognize (nor mount) my old 128-Meg Magneto-optic
drive (APS; Epson OMD-5010). Back to version 3.5, which works just
fine.
Herb K.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 12:02:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cyrus Roton
Subject: SE POWER SUPPLY
On Fri, 16 Aug 96 HAROLD POLK wrote:
Thanks to your replies, the solution was finally found to the Magic Menu
>problem. It turns out if you have Stuffit 4.0 commercial version on a
>PCI PowerMac (possibly other machines too), you can have True Finder
>Integration Control Panel set to either load the Stuffit Browser, or the
>Magic Menu, but NOT both. If both are loaded at the same time, the
>result is a Type 10 error and a forced reboot every time you boot with
>these settings. I hope Aladdin is listening.
>Sincerely,
>[email protected]
I have Stuffit 4.0 commercial version running on a PowerWave 604/132 with
BOTH the Stuffit Browser and the Magic Menu enabled without a problem. I
am running System 7.5.3 rev 2. Maybe there are other contributors to the
problems you are having.
Doug
[email protected]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 22:36:53 -0500
From: "Wayne C. Morris"
Subject: System 7.5.3 Revision 2 Creeping System Folder
Sherrill Fink wrote:
>I have a PM 7200/90 w/ 16MB RAM running 7.5.3 rev 2, which I clean
>installed about two weeks ago after using disk tools to check my
>HD and update the driver as recommended in the Apple instructions.
>
>Since then, my System Folder has started taking up more and more
>RAM every day. I'm running the same extensions/control panels as
>before the install. On Wednesday, it was taking up 8MB, but today
>it's up to 9MB!!!
>
>This is really getting to be a problem because I only have 16MB
>of real RAM (Yeah, I have virtual memory turned on, but who wants
>to use their whole HD for that?)
I think you've gotten your terminology mixed up. Do you mean that the
System Folder is taking up more space on your hard disk (not RAM)? Or do
you mean that the System *Software* is taking up more space in memory
(RAM)? Pardon me if I write my response as if you're a novice...
The disk space used by the System Folder can be checked by selecting the
folder and typing command-I (or selecting the File->Get Info menu item).
If it really is getting larger every day, you must be running a program
that's storing files somewhere in the System Folder. NetScape is one
possibility -- it saves copies of the most recent web sites you've visited,
and by default it puts these in System Folder:Preferences:Netscape =9F:Cache
=9F. If Netscape is indeed the culprit, you can change its preferences
settings to store its cache files somewhere else, or to limit the amount of
disk space it'll use.
The RAM used by the System Software can be seen by selecting the Finder's
"About This Macintosh..." menu item in the Apple menu. If this number is
changing, more information is needed. Do you ever add or remove fonts? Do
you ever shut down or restart your Mac? What extensions and control panels
do you have installed?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 05:50:36 +0000
From: Allan Hunter
Subject: What's with Davis mirror site?
I've gotten into the habit of reading the digest online via the Davis
mirror site . But something seems
to have stalled over there! The last issue they list is #176 and it's
been that way for over a week! Any idea what's happening there?
-Allan Hunter
------------------------------
Date: 19 Aug 1996 07:00:23 -0500
From: [email protected] (Larry Rymal)
Subject: Why binhexed files? (r)
[email protected] writes:
> Why is it that all Mac files on the internet are binhexed?
> ... If I'm right, please STOP THE MADNESS !! Tell all your Mac
> friends around the world to stop making life difficult for the rest
> of us.
Some major gates and sites cannot transfer binary files which are what
.sit and .zip files are. This is NOT unique to the Mac world. It is
much safer to convert executable files to a text format. Files using
straight ASCII will transfer through all gates without any conflict.
This is what BinHex does for you.
> Also, you never see PC users binhexing their zip files.
Of course not. "PC" users do not binhex files. Binhexed files are
conversions of Mac files. WinTel users, Atari, and Commodore users use a
utility called UUCODE with two commands, UUDECODE and UUENCODE. If you
ever see a WinTel file with .uu or .mu attached, then it is a file
similar to the BinHexed Mac file. If you ever download a .sit file and
it shows up on your computer as a text file, then one of two things
happened with one of them being that the file had to go through a gate
that did not recognize the Mac file for what it was.
In most cases, archived files are stored on servers that are not Mac, but
are UNIX-type boxes. If the LISTSERV utility is set up properly by the
administrator, more than likely it can handle the binary files. If it is
not, then the .sit and .zip files will transfer as pure mush. But, with
hardly any effort at all, the administrator can place .uu, .mu, and .hqx
files on the server and no problems occur during transfers. And, as
usual, I could be wrong with much of this.
By the way, "PC" means "personal computer" and is not strictly for the
WinTel machines. Just a side comment: I cannot write enough how many
times we have had to explain to folks that PowerPC Macs are not
DOS-compatible Macs unless they have the emulator or a DOS card installed,
all because of that little "PC" at the end. The next thing we'll end up
doing is allowing B*ll G*tes claim he invented those two letters just as
his company is claiming about the InterNet and the WEB.
--Larry Rymal
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 14:23:37 -0400
From: [email protected] (Andrew Murray)
Subject: Windows '95 on a Mac - alternatives?
Yes you can buy SoftWindows 95 or 3.0 (3.0 is much faster) or buy a Upgrade
card. I think you can buy PowerBook DOS cards (maybe not pentium chips
though) Also, Connectix is planning a Windows software emulator that
prommises Pentium speeds with 8 megs of ram. And there is a rumor that
Copland (Mac OS 8) will include PC emulation (Windows, OS/2, Unix) however
that is just a rumor and Apple denies it. Glad to be of any help.
Andrew Murray
------------------------------
Date: 19 Aug 96 12:14:20 EDT
From: "Owen W. Linzmayer"
Subject: ZMac exclusives
>The current (Oct 96) MacUser announces that *all* ZMac Exclusives
>are available on the web at http://www.zdnet.com/macuser/software
>
>Bless their souls. Over the last several years I have maintained
>my CI$ membership mostly to access the ZMac forum. I don't have to
>do that anymore. Saves me $10 a month.
>
>Thank you, MacUser!
>
>Y'all may feel free to buy or subscribe to MacUser. They're good
>guys and deserve our support.
Al,
FYI, I wrote the book called The Mac Bathroom Reader, and I took info
>From that book to generate over 1,000 trivia questions and answers for a
recent ZMac exclusive game, You Don't Know Mac. If you think you know all
the factoids about Apple and the Mac, download this trivia game and put
your knowledge to the test.-OWL
Owen W. Linzmayer
--------------------------------
--Info-Mac-Digest--
End of Info-Mac Digest
******************************