BMUG PD-ROM B4/PD-ROM B4.iso/Utilities/TidBITs/TidBITS 101-125/TidBITS#122⁄04-May-92.etx

Text File | 1992-05-27 | 28KB | 568 lines

TidBITS#122/04-May-92
=====================

 This week's opinions include an article on computer-based racism
   and a tale of emulator woe. We also have lots of useful
   information bits including more details about the newest
   StyleWriter driver, why Apple didn't just patch the System for
   he disappearing file bug fix, the codes to help Virex correctly
   identify CODE 252, a note on how Inspiration stacks up to MORE,
   how to install penguins in your Mac, and updates for several
   of CE's products.

 Copyright 1990-1992 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. Publication, product, and company names may be
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 For more information send email to [e-mail] or
 [e-mail] -- CIS: 72511,306 -- AOL: Adam Engst
 TidBITS -- 9301 Avondale Rd. NE Q1096 -- Redmond, WA 98052 USA
 --------------------------------------------------------------

Topics:
    MailBITS/04-May-92
    Inspiration Corroboration
    Virex Corrected
    StyleWriter Update
    Tune-Up Rationale
    CompuBigotry
    Berkeley Announces Winners
    In Search of Stickybear
    Reviews/04-May-92

[Archived as /info-mac/digest/tb/tidbits-122.etx; 28K]


MailBITS/04-May-92
------------------
  Mark Johnson writes in a posting to the nets, "After a much-too-
  long absence, ftp.apple.com once again has all of the Macintosh
  Technical Notes available on-line. The files are all in the newer
  format and are in Word 4.0 (sorry MacWrite 5.0 fans). You can find
  them in the place you would expect /ftp/dts/mac/tn/ and they are
  available individually as well as in batches of 50 at a time. Feel
  free to redistribute these around the world (one of few things on
  the site along with sample code that you can redistribute without
  a license).

  Thanks to Neil Day ([e-mail]), a former DTS engineer who is
  now in charge of Tech Notes and Sample Code, for making this
  happen. Please send all thanks to him, as I'm only responsible for
  prodding him. From this point forward, these should be kept up to
  date as used to be the case in the old days..."

  Information from:
    Mark B. Johnson -- [e-mail]


CE Updates
  Mark H. Anbinder passes on this information. "CE Software, Inc.,
  has just announced that the company is now shipping System 7
  compatibility upgrades for its products DiskTop, In/Out, and
  Amazing Paint. The upgrades, each of which costs $15 (though a
  DiskTop updater is available from various online services), offer
  32-bit clean compatibility with System 7. The exception is In/Out,
  whose server software is not System 7 compatible, even though the
  client software is. US and Canadian users may call CE's customer
  service office at 800/523-7638 to inquire about the upgrades, and
  international users should contact their local distributors for
  information, or call CE at 515/224-1995."

  Information from:
    Mark H. Anbinder -- TidBITS Contributing Editor


Inspiration Corroboration
-------------------------
  Tad Davis writes: "Kudos for the review of Inspiration. I've been
  a user of this program for some time, and was in fact one of the
  beta testers for the most recent version. Your review was
  thorough, and it gave a nicely balanced sense of the product -
  both its strengths and its weaknesses. I was particularly glad to
  see the attention you gave to "Families," which is something
  unique to Inspiration.

  I HAVE used the other outlining programs. Inspiration's outlining
  feature set compares favorably to MORE's: it won't "clone" topics
  into more than one heading, but it does allow you to "hoist" and
  "dehoist" topics for uncluttered focus on a single idea. (This is
  somewhat like the concept of Families, but not quite.) The one
  major advantage that MORE has is speed. Inspiration accepts typing
  sluggishly.

  Note that I'm talking only about the outlining stuff here. MORE
  certainly has many slide-show features that Inspiration lacks. On
  the other hand, you can use Inspiration to create free-form flow-
  charts, bubble charts, idea maps, and other kinds of diagrams;
  MORE is basically limited to fancy variations on structure charts
  and bullet charts. Inspiration's flowcharting features compare
  favorably with those of many stand-alone flowchart programs. If
  you're a programmer or systems analyst, you can use it to create
  professional-looking flowcharts, data flow diagrams, data
  structure diagrams, and so forth. One particularly interesting
  feature here is that you can label the lines that connect one
  entity with another; and when you move the entity or the lines
  around, the labels go with them.

  Disclaimer: apart from my brief venture as a beta tester, I have
  no connection with Ceres Software, other than as a fan."

  Information from:
    Tad Davis -- [e-mail]


Virex Corrected
---------------
  Jeffrey L. Needleman passes along this note from Microcom.

  The following is a revised version of the UDV (user defined virus)
  code necessary to update Virex 3.x to detect the recently
  discovered CODE 252 virus.

  The original UDV falsely identified the virus in a number of files
  under specific conditions. We recommend that you delete the
  original CODE 252 definitions and enter this revised version.

  We apologize for any inconvenience!

    Name: CODE 252
    Guide Number: 6332704
    1: 0203 3001 7778 2A00 / 79
    2: 0C50 4EFA 0003 A9AB / C4
    3: 0004 A9AA 0002 A647 / B2
    4: 8102 0330 0012 7100 / B2
    5: 0004 5081 8380 9090 / 9C

  Information from:
    Jeffrey L. Needleman -- [e-mail]


StyleWriter Update
------------------
  Matt Neuburg writes, "It appears that the problems some
  applications are having with StyleWriter 7.2.2 are the fault of
  those applications, not of Apple. Ron Voss of Apple (speaking for
  himself, not for Apple), says:

  "It now appears that Illustrator is trying to get its resolution
  info from a private print record field whose definition has
  changed. Apps which properly call GetResolution are properly
  getting back 360 from the driver."

  And I have received similar info from people checking the info
  that the driver gives out when consulted properly. This is sad
  news because it implies that the problem will not be taken care of
  quickly. But users of Adobe Illustrator, SuperPaint 3.0, and any
  other graphics programs that print worse with StyleWriter Driver
  7.2.2 are reminded that they can correct the problem easily enough
  by reverting to StyleWriter Driver 7.1 for those specific
  programs."

  [I tried unsuccessfully to contact Aldus and Adobe so I could get
  their sides of the story on why SuperPaint and Illustrator suffer
  from this problem with StyleWriter 7.2.2. If anyone at either of
  those companies can offer an explanation and let us all know if
  and when a fix is planned, I'd be more than happy to report that
  information in a future issue. -Adam]

  Information from:
    Matt Neuburg -- [e-mail]


Tune-Up Rationale
-----------------
  Greg Marriott of Apple writes about why Apple decided not to
  install the disappearing files fix into the System file directly:
  "Actually, it may seem like a no-brainer to just install the fix
  in the System and leave it at that. But it gets kind of
  complicated. The version of the System file is the key. If we
  don't change the version number after installing the fix, then
  there is no way for the user to tell if the fix is installed or
  not. If this is the only fix that we'll ever ship this way, then
  changing the version number is a trivial (and useful) solution.
  But since the possibility exists for other fixes being shipped in
  a Tuner-like delivery mechanism, then changing the version gets
  problematic. Each succeeding fix could just bump the version
  number, but what if a user has fix A and C, but not B? This is the
  point where my brain starts to turn inside out! :-)

  It is WAY simpler to have the functionality connected with the
  Tuner file, regardless of where some of the code really lives.
  This way, tech support people can ask a question that users can
  answer in a simple way.

  Tech Support: Do you have Tuner 1.1.1 installed?

  User: How do I tell?

  Tech Support: Look in your Extensions folder for an icon called
  System 7 Tuner. Select it and use the Get Info command in the File
  menu."

  Information from:
    Greg Marriott -- [e-mail] -- AOL: JusSomeGuy


CompuBigotry
------------
  Hatred is not dead. I'm sure that surprises none of you, but it
  always bothers me, especially when people use computers to spread
  hatred. The most recent examples would only be interesting for
  their trivia value were it not for their closeness in time and the
  fact that both cases directly involve Microsoft.

  Several weeks ago on the Info-Mac mailing list, a discussion list
  dedicated to things Macintosh, Gann Matsuda posted that he had
  noticed that the spelling checker in Microsoft Word 5.0 suggests
  "Nips" as a replacement for "Nisei." Now, "Nisei" means "second-
  generation Americans of Japanese ancestry," but more to the point,
  "nips" is derogatory slang for "Japanese-American." Based on a
  posting Gann made later, I don't believe he was implying in any
  way that Microsoft is racist, merely that this was an unfortunate
  coincidence that could have been avoided had "Nisei" been in
  Word's dictionary. Unfortunately, the conclusion that Microsoft is
  racist was immediately aired, and some suggested that Microsoft
  should alter Word's spelling checker so it didn't produce that
  combination (interestingly, "Nips" was the second choice behind
  "Nice" and ahead of "NYSE"). Even more unfortunately, Gann
  reported later that he received some offensive personal mail in
  relation to his posting. Hatred spreads any way it can. Sigh.

  This is the issue, then. The fact that Word's spelling checker
  makes an unfortunate suggestion is meaningless (it's been known to
  make others - it used to suggest "kidnapper" for "childcare" - and
  it's not even alone. MacWrite II apparently suggests "Nazi" for
  "Nisei"). In fact, the incident points to the fact that nothing is
  offensive to a computer. The spell checking code (which wasn't
  even written by Microsoft, by the way) merely matched a
  combination of letters that it didn't recognize with other likely
  combinations that it did recognize. To accuse Microsoft of racism
  based on that computer generated match is ludicrous.

  If you agree that the above Microsoft-bashing is ludicrous, wait
  until you hear this one. A recent article in the New York Post
  alleged that Microsoft was in fact anti-Semitic because if you
  type the letters "NYC" (for New York City) into Word for Windows
  and then change the font to Wingbats (a dingbats font in Windows),
  those three characters will change to the skull & crossbones
  poison symbol, the star of David, and the thumbs up sign. Actually
  the allegation was not just that Microsoft was anti-Semitic, but
  that those symbols were a coded death threat to Jews in New York
  City. As Brad Silverberg, vice-president of Personal Systems at
  Microsoft said, "This allegation would be silly if it weren't so
  ugly." He's right - ludicrous doesn't even begin to do this
  allegation justice. This sort of thing borders on the darkly
  paranoid numerology and cabalism in Umberto Eco's fictional
  "Foucault's Pendulum" and does not belong in the technological
  light of day.

  Just to inject a little of the silliness back into this idiocy, we
  checked out some of the other characters in Wingbats so other
  conspiracy buffs can get in on the action. NUT translates to skull
  & crossbones, cross (as in the Christian cross), and snowflake,
  which obviously means that Bill Gates intends to secretly freeze
  the Pope using state of the art cryogenic technology developed at
  Mr. Bill's biotechnology firms near Seattle. For followers of
  Nostradamus-like ambiguities, USSR translates to a cross, two
  raindrops, and a sun, which obviously points to the pivotal role
  the Pope played in all that tumult and indicates that much
  hardship (the two raindrops) will be followed by the sun's
  prosperity. Mixed signals come from the translation for USA, which
  is cross, raindrop, and the finger sign meaning peace since this
  country is obviously being run by the Moral Majority,
  environmentalists, and the peaceniks of the 60's. But wait! That
  peace sign was also used as a "V for Victory" sign, no? Perhaps
  the most telling translation is the one for the New York Post's
  initials, NYP. That becomes skull & crossbones, star of David, and
  a waving flag, which obviously means that the New York Post is
  promoting anti-Semitism through its silly article. It's all so
  obvious.

  (And for anyone who doesn't realize how obvious it is, especially
  if you happen to be a lawyer for the New York Post - I am
  kidding!)

  Microsoft may be guilty of Windows and non-standard Macintosh
  programming practices, but to accuse them of racism on the basis
  of a spelling checker coincidence and a font is ridiculous. We've
  all got better things to worry about, not the least of which is
  making computers help with the creation of good and beauty in the
  world, something they actually do quite well with things ranging
  from the lovely Mandelbrot set to the wonder of global network
  communications.


Berkeley Announces Winners
--------------------------
  by Mark H. Anbinder -- TidBITS Contributing Editor

  [Speaking of an entertaining and often stunning use for
  computers... -Adam]

  Berkeley Systems, Inc., has just announced the winners of its 1992
  After Dark Display Contest. The company, publishers of the modular
  After Dark screen saver utility, selected ten winning screen saver
  modules out of over 150 entries received.

  The winner of the $10,000 grand prize was Ed Hall, who wrote an
  After Dark module called "DOS Shell," which simulates a DOS
  computer booting up and executing DOS commands to display the
  contents of the user's hard disk. No doubt Insignia Solutions,
  publisher of the DOS emulation software SoftPC, won't get the
  joke! I wonder if it simulates lots of mistyped syntax errors too?

  The Macintosh Programmer category winner was "The Artist," a
  module by Jeff Kowalski and Bob Covey of Alameda, CA, that
  displays a PICT graphic and then redraws it using simulated
  artist's tools such as a fine brush, felt pen, and charcoal.
  Second and third place prizes went to Jean Tantra for "Patchwork,"
  which creates patchwork patterns on the screen, and Wade Riddick
  for "Renoir," which allows users to create a wide variety of
  displays using a mathematical interface.

  Winners in the Windows Programmer category were Jeff Falkner, for
  "Logrus," which maps chaos; Wes Cherry, for "Guts," which spins
  desktop icons and other shapes around a "magnetic" center; and
  John Hunt, for "Papillon," which sends butterflies fluttering
  across the screen.

  The new Computer Artist category, which was not included in
  earlier contests, was topped by Frank Huyett and Mario Margherio,
  who created "Berk," an animated character whose face is made up of
  the contents of the Windows desktop contorted to fit the shape of
  a human head. Second place went to CirQoQuirko, a surrealistic
  (and damnably difficult to type) circus scene modeled in Macromind
  Director by Steve Lyons. Last but certainly not least came Randy
  Bowman and Ellen von Reiser with their Director loop entitled
  "Revenge of the Penguins," starring lots of penguins enjoying
  themselves on Antarctic ice floes, with one curious penguin
  approaching the screen to knock on the inside glass. I'm sure Adam
  can't wait for that one.

  Some of these modules, and some released by Berkeley in its "More
  After Dark" collection of modules, seem to have missed the point
  of a screen saver utility, as they don't protect the screen from
  burn-in so much as entertain the computer's user and passersby.
  However, we must admit that the entertainment value isn't entirely
  unimportant!

  One deserving entry that happens not to have won the contest, but,
  we feel, meets the criteria of protection _and_ entertainment, is
  Kablooie, by Ithaca programmers Adam Miller and Jakub Buchowski.
  This module creates an inspiring and colorful fireworks display on
  the screen, complete with realistic, digitized explosion sounds.
  One of the inventive aspects of this module is that the module
  itself is modular. Users may create their own fireworks using
  ResEdit, specifying such attributes as sparkliness, size,
  longevity, how many "children" fireworks will be generated when
  the firework explodes, what else happens when the firework
  explodes, and how much effect gravity will have on this particular
  type of firework. Kablooie is available from your favorite
  purveyor of shareware and freeware software as well as from
  Ithaca's Memory Alpha BBS at 607/257-5822.

  Of course, there are tons of other excellent shareware or freeware
  modules out there as well - a current favorite is bgMon from
  Joshua Golub. bgMon displays an EEG-style display that represents
  how much work the CPU is doing. It's amazing how much the Mac does
  when you're not using it.

  Berkeley Systems says that these contest winners and other notable
  modules are likely to be released in an upcoming collection that
  will supplement More After Dark for those users who just can't get
  enough protection for their computer screens.

  Information from:
    Berkeley Systems, Inc. -- 510/540-5535
    Jakub Buchowski -- [e-mail]


In Search of Stickybear
-----------------------
  (or Don't Rush Out and Buy SoftPC, Yet)
  by Tom Hirasuna -- [e-mail]

  Although I have used personal computers for over ten years, only
  recently did I become aware of the many children's educational
  programs (my son Jeff is now 5). One such program is the
  Stickybear reading program. Stickybear is the featured character
  in a family of programs from Weekly Reader Software. Weekly Reader
  Software offers about 25 programs that tutor very young children
  in basic educational concepts such as the alphabet, numbers,
  shapes, reading, music, grammar, writing, comprehension, typing
  and math.

  The Stickybear programs, which originated on the Apple II
  platform, recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. Many of the
  titles are also available for the IBM PC platform and the
  Commodore 64. By today's standards, the Stickybear programs have
  crude animation, and this may explain why Stickybear programs do
  not run directly on the Mac. I expect a Stickybear for Macintosh
  program would require significant graphical improvement. However,
  the programs are fun and simple enough for a preschooler to run. I
  saw the Stickybear Reading program in operation and was convinced
  that Jeff would be thrilled by it. Providing Stickybear for Jeff
  to use in a Macintosh household became a small project in itself.

  What alternatives are available if you want to use to a specific
  program that's not currently available on the Mac platform? One
  course of action is to wait for the Mac version and encourage the
  publisher to "upgrade" its program to run on a Mac. With
  Stickybear, it's uncertain whether a Mac version will come out in
  the near future, if at all. Another alternative is to adapt your
  Mac to run the other platform (whether it's the Apple II or PC)
  and there are both hardware and software options to do this.
  Finally, you may want to buy another computer; many used Apple IIs
  and old PCs are available. In the PC platform, as the 486
  increases its share, the prices of new 286 (the so-called "AT-
  class") and 386 computers drop by the month. Many used 286
  computers are becoming available as their owners upgrade to 486s.
  The older PC and XT clone models based on the 8088 chips are also
  dirt cheap, but their capabilities are extremely limited. The rule
  of thumb is that if you need to run Windows, which Mac owners
  don't really need to do, you should buy at least a 386SX. A 286
  has lots of capabilities (approximately equivalent to a Mac LC)
  and a new system will run between $700-$1000.

  My search for "MacStickybear" corresponded to the time when I was
  in the market to buy a new Mac to replace my old 512KE originally
  a 128K Mac. I eventually purchased an LC with a color monitor
  (yes, I'm glad I bought a color Mac); I also looked forward to
  buying the Apple IIe emulator card, which had been promised but
  was delayed. Finally, I thought, I could get Stickybear for Jeff.
  Within several weeks, a local Apple representative demonstrated
  the Apple IIe emulator card. He had Stickybear among some of the
  programs he brought for the demo, and I eagerly asked him to run
  it. The Apple IIe card did its job too well. I had expected to see
  a Mac desktop with a window for the Apple IIe emulation such as
  SoftPC does for PC programs. Instead, the emulator completely
  takes over the LC to run as an Apple IIe: no windows, no access to
  the Mac programs while running in Apple IIe mode. Even worse, the
  card only supports the Apple IIe, not its bigger brother, the
  Apple IIgs. I could not see spending money to buy a board to
  seriously cripple my Mac.

  Another option was to run a fairly old software package called
  II-in-a-Mac, from a small company called COMPUTER:applications,
  Inc. They are so small that they advertised in the Marketplace
  section of MacUser and neither MacConnection nor MacWarehouse sold
  the product. Priced at $150, the program did not support color and
  was not a true window on the Mac desktop. I called about possible
  upgrades; they told me that II-in-a-PC (to run Apple II software
  on a PC) was available and was a significant improvement over
  II-in-a-Mac. An improved version of II-in-a-Mac was a future
  project for the company, but as far as I know, the product has not
  yet been released.

  I started thinking of some bizarre possibilities for running Apple
  II programs on the Mac. I had seen SoftPC demonstrated and had a
  favorable impression of it (in retrospect, however, I failed to
  notice that the demonstration was performed on a high-end Mac II).
  Among these possibilities included running SoftPC on the Mac, then
  getting II-in-a-PC to run under SoftPC. I then realized that many
  of Stickybear programs have PC versions (and this is true for most
  children's software with successful Apple II versions). I did not
  need Apple II emulation at all, just PC compatibility. There are
  some NuBus emulator cards for the Mac which let it run PC
  programs, but these cost nearly as much as buying a separate PC. I
  also thought that SoftPC would give me access to a wealth of ham
  radio and public domain programs (e.g., SuperMorse and PacMan). As
  soon as SoftPC became available for the low cost Macs (SoftPC
  Classic, now called Entry Level SoftPC), I went for this option. I
  also purchased AccessPC, a separate program which allows you to
  work with PC files on the desktop and format disks in PC format.
  Note that both programs are needed to allow you to run PC programs
  on the Mac desktop more smoothly. Street prices for Entry Level
  SoftPC and Access PC are about $125 and $60, respectively.

  After I bought SoftPC I immediately purchased the PC version of
  Stickybear Reading as well as a bunch of public domain game
  programs. I soon learned the major drawback of SoftPC: it runs so
  slowly on low-level Macs that animations seem to progress only a
  frame at a time. Sounds behave similarly. I could get very high
  scores on Space Invaders, but it was no challenge. The SuperMorse
  code training program could not be set to proper code speeds, one
  factor which is critical to code practice. In general, SoftPC does
  not run any animations well, even on the faster Macs. I had been
  right that Jeff would enjoy Stickybear Reading; whenever we
  visited Grandpa we brought Stickybear along to run on his 286 PC
  clone. However, Jeff would no longer ask for Stickybear on the Mac
  after a couple of tries with SoftPC.

  All in all, SoftPC has been a major disappointment. There are only
  a few categories of PC programs without equivalent programs on the
  Mac. I mentioned the children's educational programs and the
  amateur radio programs, many of which evolved before the Mac was
  available. There is also the category of scientific software which
  runs laboratory instrumentation. Here you often have computers
  dedicated to the operation, data collection, and data analysis for
  one instrument. A PC is sufficient to do this without being too
  expensive.

  Before Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect came out for the Mac, many
  people considered SoftPC as a godsend; if they had to run 1-2-3 or
  WordPerfect in their offices, they still could justify buying a
  Mac (with SoftPC added to the package). For these two programs,
  time dependence of the operation is not as critical as with data
  collection or animation. Finally, consider the level of the PC
  that SoftPC emulates. SoftAT at $200 street price is the top of
  the line version of SoftPC, but an AT is only a 286 PC. Also,
  Insignia Solutions, the developer of SoftPC, has established a
  record of expensive software upgrades, and its Customer Service is
  spotty, in my opinion. I do not recommend SoftPC to anyone - if
  you need to really run a PC-based program, get a PC clone. Don't
  feel that you have to buy the top-of-the-line 486 PC machine if a
  used 286 PC would be sufficient for your needs.

  All was not lost though; I found AccessPC to be a wonderful
  program which allows me to handle PC files and 3.5" PC formatted
  disks. It's extremely useful when you have both a Mac and a PC and
  need to move files between them. Yes, I ended up with a PC.
  Grandpa upgraded to a 486 PC and gave us the old 286 PC so that
  Jeff could play Stickybear. And this old PC leaves SoftPC behind
  in the dust.

  My comments about SoftPC are my own opinion and not necessarily
  representative of anyone who may feel that SoftPC was never
  intended to handle animation and other software requiring delicate
  timing, just to provide a way of running "must-have" DOS software
  on a Mac.

  [I think the moral of the story is not so much that SoftPC is bad,
  but that emulation is just not as good as the real thing. Tom
  originally wrote this article for CLICKS, the newsletter of the
  Ithaca Macintosh Users' Group. -Adam]


Reviews/04-May-92
-----------------

* MacWEEK
    128 MB 3.5" Magneto-optical drives -- pg. 42
      La Cie Micro-Optical
      MicroNet MO-128
      PLI Infinity Optical 3.5"
      Pinnacle REO-130S
    20 MB Floptical drives -- pg. 43
      PLI Infinity Floptical 21
      Procom PF20X
    Sony MDP-1100 Videodisc Player -- pg. 45
    Macintosh LC II -- pg. 45
    Nok Nok -- pg. 48

References:
    MacWEEK -- 27-Apr-92, Vol. 6, #17


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