Mac Expert 1995 Winter/Mac Expert - Winter 95.iso/Les fichiers/Tidbits/Tidbits 201 à 280/TidBITS#227⁄23-May-94

Text File | 1994-05-24 | 28.8 KB | 587 lines | [TEXT/ttxt]

TidBITS#227/23-May-94
=====================

Apple does TV set-top boxes, Fred Showker does Macworld
   Washington, and Global Village drops prices on its popular
   TelePort and PowerPort modems. Last week's article on
   advertising to overseas Mac users spawned many useful
   comments, and for Newton users, how would you like to
   read TidBITS on the Newt? All this, more details on AOL,
   the new PowerBooks, and yet another industry merger.

This issue of TidBITS sponsored in part by:
* APS Technologies -- 800/443-4199 -- <[e-mail]>
   Makers of hard drives, tape drives, memory, and accessories.
   For APS price lists, email: <[e-mail]>

Copyright 1990-1994 Adam & Tonya Engst. Details at end of issue.
   Automated info: <[e-mail]> Comments: <[e-mail]>
   --------------------------------------------------------------

Topics:
    MailBITS/23-May-94
    Handheld TidBITS
    Apples and TV Oranges?
    TelePort Prices Drop
    International Vendor Comments
    Fred Does Macworld Washington
    Reviews/23-May-94

[Archived as /info-mac/per/tb/tidbits-227.etx; 30K]


MailBITS/23-May-94
------------------
  Sorry for the slight delay on this issue - we were out of town
  visiting family and couldn't face putting out the issue late at
  night after dining in the airplane's sumptuous surroundings and
  enjoying the scintillating entertainment. And if you believe
  that... [ACE]


**The PowerBook 500 series** and two new PowerBook Duo models, all
  sporting 68LC040 processors, reached dealer shelves last week as
  predicted in TidBITS #222_. The specifics are essentially as
  described in that article. Details of note include the fact that
  the row of function keys are only on the 500-series models, not
  the Duos; the Trackpad pointing device on the 500-series machines
  has a single button below, rather than one top and bottom; and the
  modems shipping with the modem-equipped 500-series models are
  manufactured by Global Village. These PowerPort/Mercury modems are
  also available separately; Apple's bundled version lacks Global
  Village's OCR (optical character recognition) software and has an
  Apple one-year, rather than Global Village five-year, warranty.
  [MHA]


**AC Adapters for PowerBook Duos** may all look alike, but they're
  not all the same. Apple just introduced a new unit, with item
  number M4174LL/B, which works with the new Duo 280 and 280c
  models, as well as all previous models; it replaces M2781LL/A,
  introduced earlier this month, which also works with the new and
  old models. The M4174LL/A adapter works only with the Duo 210,
  230, 250, and 270c models. The new item number for the adapter
  that works with all Duos was probably adopted in order to avoid
  confusion. Nice try. [MHA]


**SuperMac and Radius** announced plans to merge in an $80.5
  million stock swap. The combined company will have revenues of
  $340 million, and in standard merger propaganda, said that they
  intended to market and support all major products from both
  companies. Since SuperMac bought E-Machines a while back, it seems
  that the video hardware market is suffering the same implosion
  that the software market has recently. Sigh. [ACE]


**Performa users** can go ahead and install System Update 3.0 on
  their System 7.1 equipped Macintosh Performas. A helpful project
  manager within Apple's Performa division confirmed for us that the
  update has been approved for Performa models running System 7.1P,
  7.1P1, 7.1P2, 7.1P3, 7.1P4, 7.1P5 and 7.1P6. The update is not
  designed for use with System 7.0.1 or its Performa equivalent, so
  Performa 200 and 400 owners who haven't updated their system
  software should not install System Update 3.0. [MHA]


**America Online via the Internet** is indeed much faster if you
  have a direct connection to the Internet, and some have reported
  faster connections even over modems with SLIP and PPP. However,
  bugs remain, so beware that a dropped connection may result in
  your account being charged for 20 minutes until it times out. To
  formally apply for the beta test on America Online, use keyword
  TCP and fill out the online application. Also, I was wrong about
  using other Telnet tools (despite the fact that the America Online
  software lets you select other tools), but Lonnie Abelbeck, author
  of VersaTerm, distributed a CCL script for using the VersaTerm
  Telnet tool on comp.sys.mac.comm last week. Finally, Jonathan Hue
  <[e-mail]> discovered that America Online doesn't encrypt
  the userid and password when it sends them over the Internet, so a
  packet sniffer can detect them in their plaintext form. Needless
  to say, this is a bit of a security hole, not so much because it
  exists (many systems send passwords in plaintext over the
  Internet) but because users are charged for America Online access,
  and because dealing with disputed charges with America Online
  customer support folks can be an exercise in frustration. [ACE]


Handheld TidBITS
----------------
  by Ashley Barnard <[e-mail]>

  Computer users of all ages and varieties have been reading and
  enjoying TidBITS for years. Now, thanks to the advent of the
  Newton MessagePad, Newton users can enjoy reading TidBITS in the
  palm of their hand! TidBITS reader Allan Marcus
  <[e-mail]> uses 4D and AppleScript to convert TidBITS
  issues into Newton book format (starting with issue 200), and
  usually has each issue available within a day or so of its setext
  appearance.

  The Newton books have the same word-for-word text content as the
  setext files most Mac users read. On the Newton MessagePads,
  though, readers can make notes around the text, copy text to the
  common Note Pad, leap to any given page or find any text, and mark
  pages for later reference. It's also an extremely handy way to
  read each issue!

  Each Newton book issue of TidBITS (beginning with issue 200) can
  be found in:

ftp://ftp.amug.org/pub/newton/books/tidbits-books/
ftp://newton.uiowa.edu/pub/newton/software/mac/books/tidbits/
http://newton.uiowa.edu/


Apples and TV Oranges?
----------------------
  Pythaeus passed on some interesting information from the World-
  Wide Developers Conference that Apple held recently. Two of the
  important and somewhat related technologies that showed there
  (although one to a limited audience) were QuickTime 2.0 and ITV.
  QuickTime 2.0 sounds as though it will significantly raise the bar
  for multimedia on microcomputers, in large part due to the
  addition of a music track that stores music as notes rather than
  as sampled sound waves. The music track apparently uses a superset
  of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface - see TidBITS #176_,
  #177_, and #178_ for detailed information on MIDI) and includes a
  large set of instrument types. We'll have to wait for our sound
  mavens to see this to judge how effective it is, but because notes
  compress much better than sampled sound, QuickTime files may be
  able to contain far more audio information for their size. Access
  to the text track in QuickTime has also improved, and text can now
  be exported, which may make QuickTime files a usable format for
  electronic publishing. Also new is MPEG support, and much faster
  (or larger) playback screens. Overall, it sounds like QuickTime
  2.0 could make some very interesting things possible.

  The second new technology that hasn't received much mention is
  Apple's new television set-top box. It reportedly uses a version
  of the Mac OS in ROM, a special pre-release version of QuickTime
  2.0, and some relatively ugly hardware. Apple is using the box in
  a project with what Pythaeus called "British Television" - perhaps
  the BBC? Anyone from the U.K. seen anything about this? So as much
  as Apple may be laying low in the digital convergence hoo-hah, it
  seems that the company is not sitting still.


TelePort Prices Drop
--------------------
  by Mark H. Anbinder, News Editor <[e-mail]>
     Director of Technical Services, Baka Industries Inc.

  TelePort modems are now cheaper, according to Global Village. The
  company, which is celebrating its position as the sole vendor with
  internal modems for the new 500-series PowerBooks, announced
  significant drops in retail price for its desktop modem line,
  effective 16-May-94.

  The top-of-the-line TelePort/Mercury, with v.32terbo 19,200 bps
  data capability, dropped from $399 to $349 retail, which includes
  Global Village's proprietary GlobalFax software and OCR software.
  The v.32bis (14,400 bps) TelePort/Gold dropped from $349 to $279
  (which also includes GlobalFax and the OCR software), and the v.32
  (9,600 bps) TelePort/Silver fell from $319 to $279. Prices for the
  PowerPort series of internal PowerBook modems, and for the low-end
  2400 bps TelePort/Bronze II, remain unchanged.

  Confused by the identical prices for Gold and Silver models? Don't
  be. A Global Village representative explained that the company
  doesn't expect to continue selling the v.32 (9,600 bps) Silver
  model, which includes GlobalFax but lacks the OCR capability and
  is considerably slower than its shinier cousins.

  Another item of interest is a $100 rebate, redeemable directly
  from Global Village, when U.S. customers purchase a PowerPort or
  TelePort/Mercury or Gold modem and one of the company's new
  OneWorld Remote Access servers, through 30-Sep-94.

  Global Village's modems are still slightly more expensive than
  many of their competitors' products (and Practical Peripherals
  just announced broad price drops as well), but the new prices are
  more in line with other good-quality products' prices, and even
  narrow the gap with the "el cheapo" products somewhat. Global
  Village is confident that their fax software, their support, and
  their warranty make the premium price worthwhile. As an active
  user of three Global Village modems and a variety of other
  companies' modems, I've seen no reason to disagree.

  Information from:
    Global Village propaganda


International Vendor Comments
-----------------------------
  Chan's article about the problems faced by international users
  struck a chord in numerous readers, many of whom passed on
  excellent comments and additional suggestions. Along with these
  suggestions, you might wish to check out Tig Tillinghast's
  excellent article on overseas software pricing issues in TidBITS
  #168_. For those of you who work for companies that do business
  outside of the U.S., you might want to pay attention. These people
  want to buy your products - standing in their way does no one any
  good.


**Pete Jones** <[e-mail]> notes that it's not just
  citizens of other countries that have difficulty dealing with U.S.
  computer companies:
  Kudos to TidBITS and Mr. Chan for highlighting the problems many
  of us have outside North America when shopping via telephone. Even
  more frustrating, though, is the number of vendors who flatly
  refuse to ship via U.S. mail. A number of us in the military count
  on U.S. mail to get us the goods, but vendors - such as Pre-Owned
  Electronics, in Massachusetts - would rather ship to our "friends
  or relatives" in the States and then have them forward things to
  us. The implication is that we're somehow not worth the trouble.
  To a young soldier or airman, this can be a disheartening - and
  sobering - experience. Shame on them!


**Helen Sargan** <[e-mail]> writes:
  I agree with Mr. Chan about U.S. companies and their lack of easy
  access. You don't need to go to Malaysia to have problems! I
  would, however, emphasize the usefulness of 24-hour fax numbers if
  there is no electronic mail access (and sometimes even if there
  is). Not only does a fax allow composition time for those for whom
  English is not their first language, it allows those whose direct
  dial facilities are limited or non-existent to phone at all. In
  university environments (and many industrial ones) telephones are
  usually limited to local or national calls and to make an
  international call requires pre-arranged permission. The fax
  machine is less-frequently limited in this way, so sending for
  information is easy. It also cuts out any time-zone problems and
  usually means the answer will be back by the next day. I have
  found that some companies don't look at their electronic mail
  boxes very often, but they don't seem to avoid faxes as much.


**Stefan Kukula** <[e-mail]> writes:
  As an international Mac user who bought his computer in the U.K.
  nearly three years ago and then moved to Japan a year ago, I would
  like to voice my support of the views expressed by Mr. Chan in
  TidBITS #226_ regarding the poor global outlook of many U.S.
  computer software and hardware vendors. The problems aren't just
  there when you try and buy software; they're there after you've
  bought it. Technical support for foreign customers is virtually
  nonexistent. I've spent a fortune over the last few years paying
  to send in those software registration cards (no postage needed in
  the U.S.) and how many update notices have I received? Or, in
  fact, contacts of _any_ kind? One. And that was from Maxis - a
  SimCity upgrade. It's nice to see that game companies pay more
  attention to their customers than productivity companies.

  Not from Symantec regarding the Think C 5.0 compiler bugs. Fairly
  important, one would have thought.

  Not from any "serious" software supplier, despite providing
  CompuServe and Internet mail addresses. Despite being apparently
  unable to use email to tell us about upgrades they all seem to
  assume that _we_ can all use Internet or commercial services to
  learn about and obtain the necessary fixes. Well, we can't always,
  and when we can it is more expensive than in the U.S. (CIS usage
  in Japan carries a healthy surcharge). A postcard informing us of
  updates would be nice. I've never even heard officially of any
  upgrade offers - Expressionist 2.0 was upgraded without me knowing
  one month after I bought it, despite my having sent off the card.

  And as for technical support... U.S. manufacturers seem to imagine
  that beyond their borders there is a nameless "other country." I
  bought Norton Disk Doctor 2.0, partly because of the CIS support.
  A problem arose. They had replaced their U.K. (where I lived at
  the time) phone number with one in... Holland! I posted a question
  on their forum-and was told to telephone their "European support
  line" during office hours. They only give online tech support to
  U.S. customers. (And that's a quote!) I hope their attitude has
  changed in the last two years, but I won't buy another Symantec
  product. For many months I had the reply I received printed out
  and pinned to the wall at the office where I worked. It didn't
  encourage anyone else to buy from them either.

  All the cases mentioned above were "proper" imports, not on the
  grey market; a mistake on my part as perhaps that way I wouldn't
  have had to pay the strange conversion rates that seem to be used,
  and the firms concerned may have believed I was a U.S. customer
  and therefore worth bothering about.

  In short, if U.S. companies want to sell abroad they should start
  showing a genuine interest in non-U.S. customers, and give us the
  same level of support as their U.S. customers. I would advise all
  non U.S. customers that if they want any updates they should join
  a local user group, as it's the only way you'll get _any_ product
  support. It also means that you can warn other members of firm's
  policies.

  It makes me wonder. Now I live in Japan, would I get the same
  level of support if I bought a U.S. automobile?

  The best for tech support? Shareware authors, who seem to be much
  more switched on. I recommend products like TrashMan, Compact Pro,
  SpeedyFinder, ZTerm, and Maelstrom whose authors have provided me
  with better technical support than any of the commercial products.
  Other authors at least tell you they don't intend to give much
  technical support. It's the same as commercial software, only much
  more honest.

  Among the worst? Quark (special mention, on behalf of another user
  group member): "So you bought our product, legally, in the U.K.? And
  then moved, with it and the computer, to Japan? That invalidates
  the contract. Not only will we not support it, but unless you send
  it back, right now, we'll call the police, and charge you with
  software piracy. Yes, even though you haven't copied it or sold it
  or... You have to buy a Japanese one, even if it's running on a
  U.K. machine and system. Why? Because you're in **Japan**."


**Lloyd Wood** <[e-mail]> writes:
  I just read Mr. Chan's plaint in the latest TidBITS. I agree
  completely, but I would add that getting software producers to
  make their updates available to the world is something that he
  missed.

  Lately, I have spent a lot of my time trying to convince tech
  support people at a number of companies to make their updates
  available by posting BinHexed copies of the updaters to Macgifts.
  My pleas seem to fall on deaf ears; a typical response is "we
  maintain support forums on America Online, CompuServe and
  AppleLink - get the update from there."

  I have no interest in accessing these services just to get
  updates, and must bug net.acquaintances with accounts to email me
  copies of the files - which I then pass on to Macgifts when
  possible. Many non-U.S., non-English-speaking, but netted folk are
  in the same position - often we don't even know that the update
  exists until we run across a mention to it by chance. I'm trying
  to get hold of the CopyDoubler 2.0.3 Lite updater as we speak. I
  miss Salient's Internet support team.

  [The Info-Mac archives based at <sumex-aim.stanford.edu> and the
  massive archives at <mac.archive.umich.edu> have worked together
  to establish two Macgifts addresses at
  <[e-mail]> and <macgifts@sumex-
  aim.stanford.edu>. Anything sent to _either_ address will go to
  not only the two major archive sites, but various others as well,
  ensuring the widest possible distribution. If you work for a
  company that distributes updates online, please include Macgifts
  in your update distribution plans - with free updates there's no
  reason not to. -Adam]


**David Riley** <[e-mail]> writes:
  Great to see that someone is noticing the plight of the Mac
  Majority! I'd really like to be able to call a company once in a
  while, but they tend to use 800 numbers, including Apple. I even
  went out and got a calling card from AT&T recently, which allows
  you to access those numbers from most countries. Well, the phone
  charges for about 30 minutes of time came to almost $100!
  "Aacckk," as Bill the Cat might say. Besides, you have to wade
  through about five minutes (if you're lucky and get through) of
  non-human interface before you can even start explaining your
  predicament to someone. For those of us outside of North America,
  real phone numbers, fax numbers and most of all, email addresses,
  really help out. With respect to assistance in using a product,
  though, I believe that the people on the Internet are much more
  helpful (and knowledgeable) than many of the company reps you
  might get on the phone.


**Daniel Petit** <[e-mail]> writes:
  True, you cannot reach 800 numbers from overseas by calling the
  regular way through your local phone company. But it is easily
  done if you use a service provider to gain access to the U.S.
  telephone network. These companies sell you, in effect, U.S. dial
  tone through intercontinental fiber optic cables and allow you to
  place a call as though you were physically in the United States.

  This is how it works: you reach the United States by dialing an
  international toll-free number from your country. This number
  connects you to a private telephone switching system in the United
  States. After the connection is established, you hear either a
  dial tone or a recording that prompts you to enter the number you
  wish to reach.

  These service providers exist mainly to offer less expensive
  international calling rates - often up to 20 percent less. But
  equally beneficial is the ability to connect to U.S. 800 numbers
  and the wide variety services that they offer - though you would
  have to pay for the call. I happen to be associated with one of
  the companies that offers this service, called Viatel
  <[e-mail]>. Viatel has no sign-up fee and no special
  equipment is needed. Users need only a valid international credit
  card. The service works from any phone to any phone that can be
  reached from the United States. 800 numbers are no problem.

  Another reputable company in this field is USA Global Link. Viatel
  and USA Global Link are known in the telecommunications industry
  as "light carriers." As opposed to traditional carriers, they do
  not own a physical transmission network but use sophisticated
  software to process calls for clients worldwide. Because Viatel
  uses fiber-optic links and digital switches, there are no delays
  nor quality degradation.


**Bill Baldridge** <[e-mail]> writes:
  Although I understand Mr. Chan's gripe, there's an easy solution -
  at least for the phone number portion - called VendorDA, which
  FourArts publishes.

  VendorDA lists 1,246 Macintosh (and cross-platform) vendors, with
  their main (non-800), sales (usually 800), and support/fax phone
  numbers.

  I have registered users from foreign countries as far afield as
  Japan, Cyprus, U.K., and Sweden, so apparently it's helpful beyond
  the bounds of the U.S., as I intended it to be. Usually, when I
  call a vendor to update their contact information, I ask for the
  non-800 specifically for foreign callers.

  VendorDA 1.43 (and an important updater to 1.43a) is available on
  America Online (keyword: MUT/Applications 3), and can be ordered
  directly from FourArts for US$15. [The version I could find on the
  Internet is older and has some 300 fewer entries, but is probably
  better than nothing. -Adam]

ftp://mac.archive.umich.edu/mac/misc/documentation/vendorda1.42.cpt.hqx


Fred Does Macworld Washington
-----------------------------
  by Fred Showker <[e-mail]>

  It's been several years since Macworld Expo ventured into the
  nation's capital. This Expo was called the Summit, held in
  Washington D.C. May 10 - 12, and should be called the show of
  contrasts.

  You'll undoubtedly read other reports on Macworld Expo Summit,
  some good, some not so good, and I suspect my impressions will be
  somewhat different from most other reviewers. For me, the pleasant
  surroundings, comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, and the friendly
  attitudes made this show a pleasure.

  The Macworld regulars seemed compelled to compare this Macworld to
  Boston, so I will too. No, it was not Boston. It was a small show
  with nowhere near as many exhibitors or as much glitz. But, it was
  a quality show with quality displays and quality sessions.

  This Macworld Expo offered a unique experience. You could actually
  meet the exhibitors and play with their product offerings. I
  didn't miss the big Mac-moguls like Microsoft, La Cie, Aldus, and
  others who usually dominate the show. Show attendees had a great
  opportunity to discover little-known vendors that seldom get much
  attention in Boston and San Francisco. I signed up for several
  free magazine subscriptions including Digital Imaging Magazine,
  and Digital Video Magazine. I also picked up the latest AISB
  Glitch Report which exposes problems and "glitches" from imaging
  centers all around the country.


**Impressions** -- I guess the threat of "government" kept many of
  the gimmick hawkers and frivolous Mac-obilia vendors away.
  Macworld Washington had the crisp tone of serious productivity.
  Network, workgroup, desktop publishing, presentations,
  connectivity and multimedia were the key words. Everyone wanted to
  sell you some power, and most had the words "PC" or "Windows"
  built into their pitch. I saw some superb presentation
  productions. Not the usual PowerPoint stuff, but some knockout
  visual displays. The "Creation, Authoring, and Development Tools"
  session with Karen Rall, Marcus Frank, Paul Gibertson and Nina
  Tovish, alone was worth the price of admission! Radius gave a
  stunning multimedia show, running real-time video with a dazzling
  display of GIF files which were actually being downloaded,
  decompressed and displayed from America Online in the background.
  Avid Technology showed their outstanding desktop video production
  system Media Suite Pro with Media Composer 1000.


**A Publisher's Mecca** -- I'm the sort who looks for printing and
  publishing excitement. Here was something for everyone in the
  publishing biz, from the large to the small. I took a spin on
  various impressive color printers, Canon's CJ 10 desktop full-
  color copier, scanner and printer, the Tektronix Phasers, and
  Seiko's awesome new ColorPoint2. Seiko also did a nice demo of
  their ColorStic products for signs displays, iron-on products for
  T-shirts, mugs and color plaques. Kodak took the time to chat with
  me, switching from paper to overhead film to demonstrate the
  ColorEase system's capabilities to produce color overheads. The
  ColorEase, folks, is by and far the nicest color overhead printer
  I've seen to date, and it sells for under $7,000! Precision Type
  was handing out Fonts disks, and I had a nice chat with Bonnie
  Schmidt of Precision Type about their new "art" fonts. (If you
  missed the show, you'll want to call them at 800/248-3668 and see
  if they'll honor their $5.00 font sampler special.) For the high-
  end folks, the 3M Rainbow Color Proofing System was churning out
  some competition-crunching pre-press color powers. Too rich for my
  blood.


**Art & Arts for the Artist** -- Some new clip art publishers were
  present, along with well-established ones. One Mile Up was showing
  their new line of clip art CDs, and I had the opportunity to take
  a look at their high-quality offerings, and chat with the artist.
  Nice stuff.

  Maps? I got my first look at Digital Wisdom's Mountain High Map
  Frontiers, an incredible collection of relief maps on CD. If you
  need maps of the world, or the oceans in wonderful, full-color
  relief, this one is stunning! If you use people in your publishing
  you'll definitely want to contact Digital Wisdom and get info on
  their new BodyShots series. Styled after the famous Fairburn
  system, and the popular concepts of figure reference books,
  BodyShots features hundreds of people posing in an amazing array
  of situations. They're all high quality photos, shot on a knock-
  out-white background. Call them at 800/800-8560.

  The highlight of this Macintosh show for me, however, was not a
  Mac at all. Now I can forget about the "power" PCs and "power"
  Macs. Now I know what Apple meant to deliver, but didn't. I got to
  test-drive the Indigo2 workstation from Silicon Graphics. Imagine
  selecting all, and applying a Gaussian blur to a 32-bit, full-page
  Photoshop file and have it appear the instant the mouse clicks.
  Note I said appear - not redraw. Or, imagine issuing Kai's
  Spherize command and see it as you look up at the monitor. All for
  a few dollars more than a dressed-out Power Mac. I'm saving up,
  starting today! CAUTION: Could be too fast for heart patients,
  pregnant women, or those prone to nosebleeds. [To be fair, I
  should note that although the Indigo is a great graphics
  workstation, it's just that, a Unix workstation, and your existing
  Macintosh software won't run, so you'll have to replace everything
  with the Indigo-specific versions of programs like Photoshop or
  completely different Indigo programs. -Adam]


Reviews/23-May-94
-----------------

* MacWEEK -- 16-May-94, Vol. 8, #20
    Global Village OneWorld -- pg. 41
    EfiColor Works 1.0 -- pg. 41
    StrataVision 3d 3.0 -- pg. 46
    Super7 Utilities 2.0 -- pg. 48


$$

 Non-profit, non-commercial publications may reprint articles if
 full credit is given. Others please contact us. We don't guarantee
 accuracy of articles. Caveat lector. Publication, product, and
 company names may be registered trademarks of their companies.

 This file is formatted as setext. For more information send email
 with the single word "setext" (no quotes) in the Subject: line to
 <[e-mail]>. A file will be returned shortly.

 For an APS price list, send email to: <[e-mail]>

 For information on TidBITS: how to subscribe to our mailing list,
 where to find back issues, how to search issues on the Internet's
 WAIS, and other useful stuff, send email to: <[e-mail]>
 Otherwise, contact us at: [e-mail] * CIS: 72511,306
 AppleLink & BIX: TidBITS * AOL: Adam Engst * Delphi: Adam_Engst
 TidBITS * 1106 North 31st Street * Renton, WA 98056 USA
 Back issues available at ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/issues/
 ----------------------------------------------------------------