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- TidBITS#173/19-Apr-93
- =====================
-
- This issue of TidBITS brings an encore to our popular issue #104,
- which focussed on System 7. This time we have a bunch more
- System 7 frequently asked questions and answers, along with an
- editorial on the virtues of the now-obsolete Quadra 700, a
- report on a nasty and long-standing bug in the Hierarchical
- Filing System, neat tricks with internal CD-ROM drives, and a
- passel of MailBITS, including one especially for PowerBook
- 100 and Duo owners.
-
- Copyright 1990-1993 Adam & Tonya Engst. Non-profit, non-commercial
- publications may reprint articles if full credit is given. Other
- publications please contact us. We do not guarantee the accuracy
- of articles. Caveat lector. Publication, product, and company
- names may be registered trademarks of their companies. Disk
- subscriptions and back issues are available - email for details.
-
- For information send email to info@tidbits.com or ace@tidbits.com
- CIS: 72511,306 -- AppleLink: ace@tidbits.com@internet#
- AOL: Adam Engst -- Delphi: Adam_Engst -- BIX: TidBITS
- TidBITS -- 9301 Avondale Rd. NE Q1096 -- Redmond, WA 98052 USA
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Topics:
- MailBITS/19-Apr-93
- CD Funkiness
- HFS Infestation
- Apple's 16-bit Solution
- System 7 FAQ
- Reviews/19-Apr-93
-
- [Archived as /info-mac/digest/tb/tidbits-173.etx; 29K]
-
-
- MailBITS/19-Apr-93
- ------------------
- We don't know how many of you have been with us since TidBITS#001,
- but those who have might realize that this issue marks the
- beginning of the fourth year of TidBITS. We would like to thank
- you all for making TidBITS a success. Over 50,000 people in 40
- countries read TidBITS each week, and it's all happened by word of
- net. The best way you can help us keep TidBITS growing is to tell
- a friend or two about TidBITS. It's free, it's easy, and you can
- get more information by sending email to: <info@tidbits.com>.
- Thanks again for an enjoyable three years, and here's hoping we
- can reach TidBITS#1000 and mess up my three-digit numbering
- scheme.
-
-
- **WorldScript info** is available from Apple at 800/776-2333, so
- if you have questions about what script modules are available or
- how to get them, call that number and choose either 4 or 5 from
- the voicemail system. For the moment, only the Japanese language
- module (released last week) is available.
-
-
- **ThoughtPattern Discontinued** -- Stephen Zagerman of Bananafish
- Software announced that the company has suspended all marketing
- and technical support for ThoughtPattern and is searching for a
- U.S. publisher. ThoughtPattern is an excellent free-form database
- that I use extensively to store bits of text from the net. We wish
- them luck in finding a new publisher. Bananafish Software --
- 415/929-8135 -- bananafish@aol.com
-
-
- **TeleFinder 3.0** -- Spider Island Software, makers of the
- graphical BBS software TeleFinder, announced version 3.0 of the
- TeleFinder Group Edition Host software, which can be fully
- controlled via Apple events and Frontier or AppleScript.
- TeleFinder now uses a multi-server architecture that allows
- multiple nodes of the same BBS to run on separate, networked Macs,
- increasing the number of phone lines the BBS can support. An
- unlimited user package of TeleFinder retails for $425. Spider
- Island Software -- 714/66-9260 -- 714/730-5785 (BBS) --
- wk05156@worldlink.com
-
-
- **Sleeping Floppies** -- Rich Wolfson <72467.617@compuserve.com>,
- author of The PowerBook Companion, passes on this helpful
- PowerBook hint. Apple tells you to shut down the PowerBook 100
- before attaching the external floppy drive. The reason for this is
- not because of electrical danger, but because even though the
- driver for the floppy drive loads from ROM, the PowerBook 100 sets
- a bit at startup that indicates whether or not a floppy drive is
- attached. If you boot without the floppy drive attached, that bit
- thinks there is no floppy drive, and attaching the floppy drive
- after the fact won't work. So, follow this procedure. Shut down
- the PowerBook, attach the floppy drive, boot the PowerBook again,
- and when it wakes up, put it back to sleep. You can now safely
- remove the floppy drive, and when you want to use the floppy drive
- again, assuming you _haven't_ rebooted, you can put the PowerBook
- to sleep and attach the floppy again. The Duos are even neater;
- you can attach the floppy at any time to a sleeping Duo because it
- has the floppy driver in ROM and also includes special docking
- features that allow you to attach a floppy drive (via the floppy
- adapter or MiniDock) when the Duo is asleep. Never attach an
- external floppy to any PowerBook while it is awake!
-
-
- CD Funkiness
- ------------
- The internal AppleCD 300 may not have a headphone jack or volume
- control, but it's not entirely featureless. If you unplug the
- microphone you can record 10 seconds of sound from an audio CD in
- the Sound Control panel. The switching is automatic, but keep in
- mind that the files will be huge. When you do this, the Mac mixes
- the two stereo channels of CD audio to mono and converts them to
- 8-bit sound, which is similar to what happens with the Quadra's
- "stereo" input jacks.
-
- In addition, you can boot from the internal CD-ROM, which should
- significantly ease installing new Systems on those machines. In
- fact, Apple provides the boot CD **instead of** a set of System
- disks. Apparently Apple set this CD up with At Ease to make it
- even easier to use. The CD contains disk images of the System
- disks, so users can also make a set of backup disks, just in case.
- Even though booting from CD will ease the process for users,
- technical support people should be aware of this difference
- between normal Macs and Macs with internal CD-ROM players.
-
- Information from:
- Craig O'Donnell -- dadadata@world.std.com
- Eric Apgar -- apgar@apple.com
-
-
- HFS Infestation
- ---------------
- I don't know if there is a Pulitzer Prize in computer journalism,
- but if there were I'd nominate Ric Ford of MacWEEK for this year.
- Fighting with problems on his Macs, Ric tracked down a subtle and
- confusing bug that has lurked for years within HFS, the
- Hierarchical Filing System. Others had noticed the bug, but as
- near as I can tell, until Ric came along, no one figured out what
- was happening clearly enough and informed Apple at an official-
- enough level for the bug to be recorded, tracked, and
- exterminated.
-
- I haven't personally seen the bug, but its symptoms are that when
- your Mac crashes, it flashes the question mark rather than
- rebooting if the affected disk is a boot disk. If the affected
- disk is not a boot disk, the Finder won't think it's a Macintosh
- disk and will ask you if you want to Eject or Initialize. Needless
- to say, this is quite noticeable, not to mention irritating beyond
- belief.
-
- Here's what's happening. When the Mac starts up, it sets a "dirty"
- flag in the volume information block of each volume. If you
- shutdown gracefully, the Mac clears that flag and all works fine.
- If you crash, the Mac sees the dirty flag on the subsequent boot,
- and checks the disk's catalog and extents files for damage (it
- usually finds not damage). Under specific circumstances, the Mac
- blows that check and thinks the disk is indeed damaged, when in
- fact all that has happened is that the Mac made an incorrect
- calculation.
-
- The only fix is to boot with an emergency floppy from Central
- Point's MacTools, Norton Utilities, or Fifth Generation's Public
- Utilities and then have the disk recovery program remount the
- disk, clearing that improperly set flag. Note that these programs
- will not report any problems in the process because they don't
- know about the bug; they just know how to clear that dirty flag.
-
- I could describe the specific circumstances necessary to release
- the bug, but there's no point. Instead, let me point you to a free
- program that Central Point Software's Dave Camp created on Ric's
- suggestion. Called Disk Bug Checker, the program can tell you how
- likely it is that a hard drive will suffer from the bug. Disk Bug
- Checker, which is available on most online services, including
- sumex as </util/disk-bug-checker-11.hqx>, checks the size of your
- catalog and extents files along with your partition's
- fragmentation level and then tells how susceptible that disk is to
- the bug. Small partitions are seldom, if ever, affected (which may
- account for the life-span of this particular bug), and the Disk
- Bug Checker claimed I wouldn't be susceptible until I had 34,817
- fragments. That's pretty unlikely.
-
- The best way to avoid the bug in the future if you're experiencing
- it is to back up your disk (carefully!) and use the Finder's Erase
- Disk command (from the Special menu) on that disk, restoring your
- files when you're done. The Finder will rebuild the catalog and
- extents files, and in the process may change them slightly from
- your original formatting program. That may eliminate the problem
- in some cases, especially for volumes around 85 MB to 95 MB, when
- the allocation block size is 1.5K. If using Erase Disk doesn't
- help, reformat your hard disk with a different formatting program
- or with a slightly different partition size, say plus or minus
- 100K. That will change the size of the catalog and extents files,
- which will in turn change your susceptibility to the bug. Apple
- knows about the bug now, so we can hope that they will fix it for
- good in the future.
-
- Information from:
- Ric Ford, MacWEEK -- 72511.44@compuserve.com
-
- Related articles:
- MacWEEK -- 15-Feb-92, Vol. 7, #7, pg. 74
- MacWEEK -- 08-Mar-92, Vol. 7, #10, pg. 58
-
-
- Apple's 16-bit Solution
- -----------------------
- by Glenn Fleishman -- fleglei@well.sf.ca.us
-
- I was saddened to read of the Quadra 700's demise. Once again,
- Apple has cancelled a model which, despite clear advantages,
- doesn't fit into their price and product line structure. In the
- process, Apple complicated the issue of cheaply achieving 24-bit
- color.
-
- When Apple introduced the Quadra 700 and 900 as the first 68040-
- based Macintoshes, there was much consternation about price,
- features, upgrades, and compatibility. The 700 and 900 feature
- much the same technology, with Ethernet, room for 2 MB of video
- RAM (VRAM), a 25 MHz 68040 with built-in math coprocessor, and
- improved access to internal components. Apple quickly replaced the
- 900 with the 950 (a 33 MHz 68040), making the distinction between
- models more apparent. With some price cuts and the passage of
- time, most pricing and compatibility issues disappeared.
-
- Apple's introduction of the IIvx last fall, followed recently by
- the Centris 610 and 650 (16 MHz and 25 MHz 68040-based machines)
- tarnished the Quadra 700's sheen. The new Quadra 800, which has a
- similar price and footprint to the 700, but at 950 speeds, also
- deadened the impact of cutting the 700.
-
- However, everyone has ignored the fact that the Quadra 700 has a
- feature not shared by the Quadra 800 or the two Centris models:
- room for 2 MB of VRAM. Although this seems minor, I believe it to
- be a crucial underestimation by Apple of the necessity for 24-bit
- color in the near future. This is primarily true for users of
- Kodak's Photo CD and color flatbed and film scanners, with lesser
- importance for users of multimedia and CD-ROM-based video. The
- Quadra 800 and Centris models, as well as the IIvx, LC, LC II, LC
- III, and Duo Dock for the PowerBook Duos all max out at only 1 MB
- of internal VRAM. This amount of VRAM provides 32,768 colors, or
- 16-bit video. Only the Quadra 950 can still do 24-bit video
- without an additional video card.
-
- Apple's rationale is two-fold. First, 16-bit video is more than
- adequate for video replay and most multimedia. Although full-
- screen, full-motion, 24-bit-per-pixel video capture is possible
- with such devices as SuperMac's Digital Film board, for the sake
- of compression and sanity, most video is sampled down to 16 bits,
- or initially digitized at that bit depth. No more than 16 bits is
- necessary for representing the dynamic range (or numbers of
- discrete colors) that occur in a standard video signal. Therefore,
- you achieve a great savings in storage and an increase in
- digitizing and playback speed.
-
- Second, Apple believes that few non-experts can distinguish
- between 16- and 24-bit video (see May-93 MacUser article on large
- monitors for a taste test they performed). Kodak Photo CD actually
- uses a 16-bit colorspace (the PhotoYCC colorspace), which is
- compressed from and decompressed into the conventional 24-bit RGB
- colorspace.
-
- I maintain that Apple's rationale, although valid in general
- today, is not a significant enough reason to limit users to 1 MB
- VRAM, and may change in the near future.
-
- On the first point, although today's standard is NTSC in the U.S.
- and PAL and SECAM abroad, none of which allow for terrific dynamic
- range, future standards will allow for substantially crisper
- displays and broader ranges and distinctions of color. Coupled
- with this is the rapidly decreasing cost of storage and rapidly
- increasing speed of retrieval, currently major limitations in
- video storage.
-
- On the second point, I feel that you don't have to be an expert to
- appreciate 24-bit video. I have spent the last 20 months working
- mostly on systems with 24-bit video, and the distinction that I
- see between those systems and others running 16-bit video is
- substantial enough for anyone making a cursory comparison to
- notice. People doing serious illustration using either a
- PostScript language drawing program like Adobe Illustrator or a
- bitmap-oriented program like Fractal Design Painter, or doing any
- sort of photographic manipulation, correction, or compositing in
- Adobe Photoshop, must have 24-bit video. Although you may see
- smooth blends and crisp results on screen in 16-bit color, you
- will have no guarantee of the actual output colors or blends. The
- new calibration products for the truly serious that are about to
- come on the market (Kodak's ColorSense system, and products by
- Agfa, EFI, and others) essentially require 24-bit color.
-
- Apple ostensibly is increasing the market potential of their
- products by eliminating some circuitry and a few SIMM mounts. I
- can't imagine this saves more than $15 per machine - probably less
- since the parts exist in other Macs. Engineering costs are
- negligible because Apple already designed the Quadra 700, 900, and
- 950. By the time you go through mark-ups, these missing SIMM
- mounts and circuitry might translate to no more than $50 on the
- price sticker.
-
- For the user, however, 24-bit color is more expensive. The
- internal circuitry in the Quadra 700, 900, and 950 is estimated at
- approximately 75 percent of the speed of the Apple 8*24GC video
- display & QuickDraw accelerator card (which displays 24-bit color
- only on 13" monitors; it drops to 16-bit color on 16" monitors).
- On the other hand, using onboard video equipped with enough VRAM
- slots, with the addition of six 256K VRAM SIMMs at a street price
- of $150 total, the user gains 24-bit on a 13" or 16" monitor
- (including the capability to use third party monitors), avoids
- using a NuBus slot, and achieves speeds comparable to a $450 to
- $600 video card from SuperMac, Radius, or RasterOps. (The Quadra
- 900 and 950 require only an additional four SIMMs or $100, as they
- comes with 1 MB of VRAM installed.)
-
- Although video cards from third parties often include extra
- features like automatic dimming, multiple video modes or pixel
- pitches, and, with the E-Machines 16" video card, even a 10BASE-T
- Ethernet port, many sophisticated users never use these features
- (humbly, I include myself in that group).
-
- To give you the same capacity as a Quadra 700 (two slots and
- 24-bit video on a 16" video), the Quadra 800 would cost an
- additional $450 to $600 and would lose a slot. The net difference
- after subtracting the VRAM cost is $300 to $450 (or 10+% of the
- cost of the machine extra) for what might have added $50 to the
- machine's cost.
-
- In an effort to reduce cost, I believe Apple made it harder for
- many individuals to achieve 24-bit-hood. With the increasingly
- lower cost of the entire Apple product line in conjunction with
- lower prices for scanners and the advantages of Photo CD, it
- becomes harder for users to achieve 24-bit color without exceeding
- their budgets. The elimination of the Quadra 700 provides an easy
- way for Apple to slip the Centris computers in the middle of the
- product line since the Centris 650 and the Quadra 700 are
- virtually identical in performance. Ultimately, users suffer by
- their lack of inexpensive expansion. The beauty of Apple's newer
- machines, such as the PowerBook Duo and Duo Dock combination, is
- that you can have expandability without paying for it until you
- need it. Now you'll have to pay more.
-
- The good news is that Apple is clearing out Quadra 700s at prices
- 50 percent or more below what they were six months ago. The Quadra
- 700 in the 4/0 configuration is available for $2,000 street price
- versus $3,800 on 01-Sep-92. A Quadra 700 in the 4/200
- configuration is $2,600 street price versus the Centris 650 8/230
- for $3,100. Remember the above calculations show that if you need
- 24-bit video, the 700 4/200 would be $2,750 versus at least $3,550
- for the equivalent Centris 650 with a 24-bit video card.
-
-
- System 7 FAQ
- ------------
- System 7 has been out for several years now, and although some
- people have yet to switch to it (mostly for incorrect reasons or
- because it's too much trouble), System 7 is probably the most
- common System version in use. Apple released System 7.1 last fall,
- but the modules that make 7.1 a compelling upgrade have only begun
- to appear. In the meantime, here are some frequently asked
- questions (and answers) about Apple and System 7 that we did not
- cover way back in TidBITS#104/System 7. If you use System 7 and
- have questions beyond these, please check that issue because it
- answers a ton of common questions.
-
-
- **Errors and Solutions**
-
- Q1) My System is taking up way too much RAM. What is wrong?
-
- A1) You need to turn on 32-bit addressing. Under 24-bit addressing
- (this is what you are in when 32-bit addressing is off) all RAM
- above 8 MB is mapped to the System but not used (nice interface!).
- Warning: first make sure hard disk drivers, NuBus cards, Control
- Panels, extensions and all applications are 32-bit compatible!
-
-
- Q2) What should I do if I come across really weird system errors
- like "Bad F-Line," "Bus Error," or "Error of type 25?"
-
- A2) If 32-bit addressing and/or Virtual Memory are on, try turning
- them off, restarting, and testing your system. If the problems go
- away, you may have an extension or application that is
- incompatible with 32-bit addressing or Virtual Memory. If strange
- problems persist, try disconnecting your SCSI chain. If strange
- problems persist, try a clean install (boot with Disk Tools, put
- your System and Finder in the Trash, empty the Trash, and then
- boot again with your first Install Disk [usually Install 1]. If
- you run System 7.1, remove your Fonts folder from the System
- Folder as well when you are booted under Disk Tools.). If strange
- problems still persist, backup your files, reformat the hard disk,
- and restore your files. If strange problems still persist, as a
- last resort try other disks, try other SIMMs, re-seat your NuBus
- cards in different slots, or have diagnostics run on the hardware.
- Also, do call the appropriate technical support line (or send
- email to companies that do online tech support) before you go to a
- great deal of trouble re-installing things. Sometimes support
- can't help at all; sometimes support can save you a great deal of
- time.
-
-
- Q3) When I add fonts to my System I get an error message saying
- the System file is damaged. Sometimes when I double click a
- suitcase of bitmaps I get the same message. What is wrong?
-
- A3) The bitmaps in the system or in the suitcase have been
- compressed with Suitcase's Font Valet or are "damaged" according
- to System 7. If the System file is damaged and you have another
- source for the fonts installed in the System, boot from a floppy,
- trash the System file, empty the trash, reinstall with the
- installer to build a new System file, and then reinstall the
- fonts. If the fonts are bad, System 7 will not let you install
- them. If you have no backup of fonts INSIDE a damaged suitcase or
- damaged System file, put Font/DA Mover 4.1 on your hard disk, boot
- from a floppy with System 6.0.x, open the Font/DA Mover, then hold
- down the option key, click open, and you will be able to open the
- "damaged" System or suitcase and copy the fonts to another
- suitcase. Split up the suspect fonts into smaller suitcases,
- reboot under System 7 and try opening the suitcases. By trial and
- error you can determine which fonts the Mac is choking on.
-
-
- Q4) What should I do if Get Info windows and some other windows
- display the wrong font?
-
- A4) Your system font is messed up. The setting for the system font
- is stored in PRAM (Parameter RAM). To fix the problem zap your
- PRAM by holding down command-option-p-r (be sure Caps Lock is
- off!) at boot time, and then let go at the second startup chime.
-
-
- Q5) My desktop patterns are black & white or messed up. What do I
- do?
-
- A5) Use ResEdit and copy an unmodified ppat resource from the
- System 7 disks to your System file OR boot from a floppy, trash
- the System file, and reinstall.
-
-
- Q6) With File Sharing on, why can't I eject removable media even
- when it is not shared?
-
- A6) Actually, it is shared for the owner. As owner you can log in
- and have access to all volumes. To eject removable media, turn off
- File Sharing or mount it after File Sharing has already started.
- AppleShare 3.0 does support unmounting removable media. Also look
- for a free utility from Apple called UnMountIt, which I haven't
- seen on the Internet yet, but which was uploaded to CompuServe's
- MACDEV libraries.
-
-
- Q7) File Sharing cannot be enabled. What could be wrong?
-
- A7) There has to be some free space on each volume (to be safe,
- have 1 MB free), the hard disk driver may need to be updated, the
- Users & Groups Data File may be corrupt (trash it and restart),
- the PDS files may be bad (trash them, they are in the File Sharing
- folder inside Preferences), the invisible AppleShare PDS file may
- be corrupted (make it visible with DiskTop or ResEdit and then
- trash it), or there may be a bad block, which means you'll have to
- backup your files, reformat the hard disk, and restore your files.
-
-
- **General Questions**
-
- Q8) Why don't I get 8-bit icons for floppies and CD-ROMs?
-
- A8) Because of the way the drivers are written. Then why is there
- an 8-bit icon for floppies? For dialogs like the one used in the
- Installer. Look for a freeware extension from Andrew Welch called
- Discolour - it will give you nice icons for floppies.
-
-
- Q9) How do I avoid rebuilding the desktop files when switching
- between System 6 and System 7?
-
- A9) Get the Desktop Manager extension and load it in your System
- 6.0.x System Folder. It's part of AppleShare 2.0.1, part of the
- Oscar package at ftp.apple.com, and part of the Eudora mail
- package. If you don't have FTP access, get someone that has FTP
- access to get it for you or get AppleShare 2 (which is no longer
- sold).
-
-
- Q10) What's the email address for Apple?
-
- A10) There is no general email address. For bug reporting you can
- send email to <apple.bugs@applelink.apple.com>. For complaints and
- information, but NOT technical support call the Apple Assistance
- Center at 800/776-2333.
-
-
- Q11) What are files in the image format?
-
- A11) They are files in the DiskCopy format. Get DiskCopy or
- MountImage to work with them.
-
-
- Q12) How do I do a network install?
-
- A12) Make a "Network Install" folder on your hard disk. Then
- insert each disk necessary for the install, and drag the floppy
- icon on top of the "Network Install" folder. This will create
- folders inside the "Network Install" folder. Move the Installer
- and install script out of the "Install 1" folder to the top level
- of the "Network Install" folder. Then share the "Network Install"
- folder and launch the installer over the network.
-
-
- Q13) What printer driver do I use with my LaserWriter IISC under
- System 7?
-
- A13) The 7.0 Personal LaserWriter SC driver on the Printing Tools
- disk.
-
-
- Q14) Why does Virtual Memory create a file the same size as total
- memory? Why not a file the size of the difference between physical
- RAM and total RAM?
-
- A14) Because it's a gazillion times faster. [Connectix does not
- agree and Virtual 3.0 has a Disk Saver mode that uses only the
- space you request.]
-
-
- Q15) Is there a System 7 compatible spooler for the ImageWriter?
-
- A15) Yes, SuperLaserSpool 3.0 from 5th Generation Systems.
- 800/873-4384. This works with all four flavors of the ImageWriter
- (serial or AppleTalk with the regular ImageWriter or the
- ImageWriter LQ).
-
-
- Q16) Where can I get ResEdit?
-
- A16) ftp.apple.com, some user groups or APDA (800/282-2732 from
- the US, 800/637-0029 from Canada, or 408/562-3910 for
- international). APDA = Apple Programmers & Developers Association.
-
-
- Q17) I've heard there is unused space on my Apple HD? How can I
- use it? Why is there unused space?
-
- A17) With Apple HD SC Setup you can see some information about the
- hard disk. Click Partitions, click Custom, and then click Details.
- There is usually unused space on Apple hard drives; you will see
- gray space in the bottom of your partition map with the size to
- the left. If you reformat your hard drive you can use this unused
- space. Backup your entire disk then boot from a floppy containing
- Apple HD SC Setup, click Partition, select your main Macintosh
- volume and delete it, click Custom, click and drag from just below
- the top partition all the way to the bottom, select Macintosh
- volume in the resulting dialog and then you will not be wasting
- any space on your hard drive. There is unused space because Apple
- gets hard disks from various vendors (various sizes) and wants
- them to look the same after the default formatting. So all 40 MB
- hard disks are formatted at a certain size; if the drive happens
- to really be 42 MB, there is 2 MB of unused space.
-
-
- Q18) Sometimes I see a folder named Move&Rename at the top level
- of my hard disk. What is that?
-
- A18) It is a folder created and used by System 7 File Sharing. If
- you turn off File Sharing the Macintosh will delete it. Just
- ignore it and do not save anything into it as the folder is
- invisible!
-
-
- Q19) When I press my shift key five times in a row my machine
- whistles at me and a funny little bracket shows up in the menu
- bar. Do I have a virus?
-
- A19) It's a feature of Easy Access, a Control Panel that allows
- people allergic to mice to use the keyboard instead.
-
-
- Q20) I have System 7, should I upgrade to 7.0.1?
-
- A20) For 98% of people - don't bother. The changes are minor and
- the new SANE routines which speed up a very few math-intensive
- applications only help people with IIci's or better and only help
- applications that use the SANE routines rather than using the FPU
- directly. If you really want it, it's available through
- ftp.apple.com, dealers, user groups and online services. More
- importantly, get the System 7 Tune Up 1.1.1.
-
-
- Q21) Should I upgrade to 7.1?
-
- A21) Yes, if you like the idea of a separate folder for fonts,
- instead of storing them in the System file. Yes, if you don't want
- to worry about what version of Tune Up you have installed since
- 7.1 includes the various Tune-Ups built in. Yes, if you are
- excited about future add-ons (like OCE and AppleScript) and want
- to be ready now. No, if you have a 32-bit dirty Mac (like a II,
- IIcx, IIx, or SE/30), use more than 8 MB of RAM and don't want to
- worry about what software to use in order to access all of your
- RAM (see TidBITS #167_ for more info). No, if you don't want to
- pay for the upgrade. No, if your Mac works great now and you don't
- need any of the Yes reasons just yet.
-
-
- Reviews/19-Apr-93
- -----------------
-
- * MacWEEK -- 12-Apr-93, Vol. 7, #15
- Retrospect 2.0 -- pg. 49
- A.M.E. 2.1 -- pg. 52
- Bernoulli Mac Floptical -- pg. 54
- Rancho Tech Floptical -- pg. 54
- COPYright & COPYright Pro -- pg. 54
-
-
- ..
-
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