SyQuest and DAT compete for the title of best storage, and CD-R shows rough spots.
This SyQuest or DAT?
Question:
Our firm uses very large graphics files that have a voracious appetite for storage. Obviously, floppies are not going to cut it for archiving and backing up. I've had wonderful experiences with DAT (digital audiotape) in the past, but my boss says DAT is unreliable. He insists on using SyQuest cartridges. Which is better for storing the hundreds of large files we have to access repeatedly?
Name withheld (to avoid getting fired)
Baltimore, MD
BOB: Both media have their strengths, but I'm with you -- I prefer DAT. For one thing, I've found it's more reliable. I've been using APS DAT drives for years, backing up literally hundreds of gigabytes of data, and I've never lost a file. On the other hand, I've had so many problems with file corruption and damage on SyQuest cartridges that I've gotten rid of all of them and use DAT exclusively. My service bureau is just as happy to receive my work on a DAT cartridge as on a SyQuest cartridge.
CHRIS: If we were still living in the Bush era, I'd agree with Bob -- in those days, SyQuest cartridges would go kablooey if you looked at them cross-eyed. Fortunately, SyQuest cartridges are much more reliable nowadays. Although I, too, dig DAT for its low cost and stability, SyQuest cartridges are okeydokey as one component of a redundant-backup set; I'd back up to more than one type of medium.
BOB: Whether or not you think DAT is more reliable, you'll have to agree it saves you money. A $10 DAT cartridge holds about 2 GB of data. By contrast, a $75 SyQuest cartridge holds only 270 MB. You'd need seven and a half SyQuest 270 cartridges -- at a cost of $562.50 -- to hold the same amount of data that fits on a single $10 DAT.
Sure, DAT hardware is more expensive (starting at about $700) than SyQuest (as little as $225 for an EZ135), but it doesn't take long for SyQuest to become a much more expensive proposition.
CHRIS: And even if you choose the inexpensive new SyQuest EZ135 or an Iomega Zip drive, with its less expensive cartridges, you'll still spend over $200 to get the amount of space you get with a $10 DAT.
BOB: To be fair, you can retrieve a file from a SyQuest or Zip cartridge in seconds, whereas file retrieval from DAT can take as much as a few minutes. And you can use a SyQuest or Zip cartridge as extra storage.
If speedy data retrieval outweighs all other concerns, get a SyQuest or Zip drive. Otherwise, go with DAT.
Seedy CDs
Question:
Using a recordable CD-ROM for archiving was great until last week, when I got a disk-error message while unsuccessfully trying to open an archived EPS file.
Avoiding this kind of problem is exactly why I switched from SyQuest to CD-R. Am I living in a fool's paradise thinking my data is safe on CD-ROM?
Tracy Datlen
via AOL
CHRIS: No, you're living in a perfectly reasonable person's paradise, but you have to take some precautions. The problem could be the brand of disc you're using. To illustrate my claim, allow me to relate the following true-life tale:
A friend of mine who produces limited runs of CD-ROMs for in-house multimedia productions received complaints from clients that a recent batch of his discs failed on other people's systems. With just a little detective work, he discovered the problem: He had changed the brand he was using. After checking around with other recordable-CD-ROM users, he found that several of them had also had problems with this particular brand. He switched to Matsui discs, and from that day forward everything was ducky.
BOB: Care to mention the name of the vendor that produced those dicey discs?
CHRIS: It would hardly be fair to pick on TD... er, that is, no, I won't say. It's possible to have a bad run in any manufacturing process, and blank discs tend to be a bit more susceptible to weirdness than other kinds of media. According to my buddy, it's not unusual for people who roll their own CD-ROMs to switch brands every few months -- depending on which seems stable at the time.
BOB: To find out the latest on what's reliable and what's not, you can frequent online areas where people who write their own CD-ROMs hang out (check the Mac-hardware forums on AOL and CompuServe and the comp.sys.mac.hardware.storage newsgroup, for example). Posting a question along the lines of "Who's making reliable, recordable-CD-ROM media these days?" should elicit many helpful responses.
Lame Games?
Question:
My Power Mac just doesn't seem as fast as a comparable Windows machine. Take the games Wolfenstein and Dark Forces -- they run faster on a 486 than on my Power Mac. And I mean three times as fast. What gives?
Alex Rampell
via AOL
CHRIS: Place a Pentium-toting PC and a Power Mac side by side, and play one of the games you mentioned on both machines. Notice a difference other than speed (discounting the extra hour it takes to install the PC version)? Right, the PC graphics are chunkier.
BOB: Just say it -- they're uglier.
CHRIS: One reason the Mac version is slower is because the screen resolution on the two platforms is different. PCs don't have to throw nearly as many pixels onto the screen as do Macs (PCs project one-fourth as many pixels, in most cases.) Not coincidentally, it takes about four times the processing power to blast all those pixels onto the screen. That takes a toll on speed.
Fortunately, screen resolution cuts both ways. Yes, higher screen resolution slows down games somewhat, but modern ports of PC games, when done correctly, look better on the Mac than they do on the PC.
If you want to speed up your games and you can live without hi-res graphics, by all means switch to something a little chunkier if it's offered. Likewise, choose a smaller screen size.
Also, use an extension manager to create a "game set" that includes only those extensions absolutely necessary to keep your Mac alive while you're duking it out with all those hostile otherworlders (see figure 1).
Figure 1 - To speed up how fast you blow through a squadron of
enemies, solve a mystery, or perform any action in your
game of choice, try disabling all but the essential
extensions. Defining a "game set" of extensions, using a
utility such as Casady & Greene's Conflict Catcher 3,
makes disabling the right extensions all the more
convenient.
BOB: The one thing that'll help more than anything else is to install a 256K or 512K Level 2 cache card. These cards are not cheap -- roughly $250 to $500 -- but you'll get the speed you desire. Both games you mention run blazingly fast on my Mac, which has a Level 2 cache.
CHRIS: Did someone say, "Level 2 cache?"...
Step Up to Level 2
Question:
I think I understand what a cache is: a part of RAM that's reserved for temporary storage of recent command sequences. And I understand the point of having a cache: If the stored commands are used again, the Mac will execute them faster. But I don't know what differentiates Level 1 and Level 2 caches. Does one perform better than the other? Is 512K twice as effective as 256K? (It's twice the price.) Finally, do I have to be performing an intensive task, such as video editing, to notice any difference?
Ted Hopes
via the Internet
CHRIS: To begin with, a Level 1 cache is part of every PowerPC-based computer. It's right there on the PowerPC chip.
BOB: A Level 2 cache, sometimes called a secondary cache, comes on a small circuit card and may or may not be preinstalled. Most current PowerPC Macs have a cache-card slot, which lets you add or upgrade the Level 2 cache.
The speed improvement can be significant. My system with a 256K Level 2 cache card feels much zippier than the same system without.
CHRIS: In answer to your next question, a 512K Level 2 cache isn't twice as fast as a 256K for most tasks, although it costs twice as much. Probably the best you will see is a 10- to 20-percent improvement. Soon-to-be-released 1-MB Level 2 caches should be even faster.
BOB: Finally, you'll notice the difference a Level 2 cache makes in most everything you do: editing video, scrolling through documents, applying Photoshop filters, even quitting programs. No matter what you do with your Mac, a Level 2 cache will let you do it faster.
Phony Network
Question:
My roommate and I want to network two Macs in different rooms in our house in order to play network games. Each room has two phone lines -- a shared voice line and an individual modem line. We'd like to avoid running a cable between the two machines if possible. What do you suggest?
Mark Leonard
via the Internet
CHRIS: Mark, first of all, let me commend you for having your priorities straight. Exchanging messages and files across a network is all fine and dandy, but nearly all of that work can be replaced by a saunter down the hall or a short phone call. As far as I'm concerned, the really compelling reason to have a network is to blast the bejeebers out of the folks hanging about on the other end of the line.
Despite your aversion to stringing cable, that's what I'd do. If the rooms are side by side, you simply need to buy LocalTalk connectors (or Ethernet if you can afford it), drill a quarter-inch hole between the two rooms, and run the LocalTalk phone line through the wall.
If you're renters and are concerned that the landlord will glom onto your cleaning deposit based on this insignificant violation of the lease, lay in a supply of Spackle and fill the hole when you move out. With a little sanding and the proper paint, said Lord of the Land will never know the difference.
BOB: Wait! Before you endanger your lease, there's an easier way. You did say you had phones in each room, didn't you? Here's a hot tip: You know the RJ-11 jack in the wall, the one your phone plugs into? It contains four wires, but your phone requires only two of them and you can use the other two to form an ad hoc LocalTalk network. The two wires I'm speaking of are usually the yellow and black ones. Clip a 120-ohm terminating resistor between the yellow and black terminals, and then wire a modular extension cord (such as a phone cord), connecting one wire of the cord to each terminal. Connect the other end of the phone cord to a connector, such as the Farallon PhoneNet, and you've got an instant network connection.
CHRIS: Bob, you do understand that by using your method, I will no longer be able to write off that dual-speed Makita reversible drill I just picked up at Price Club? Sigh. OK, if you have your wiring chops down and fear your landlord more than the phone company, follow Bob's advice.
If LocalTalk is out of the question, you might consider using your modem lines to play modem-to-modem or via Apple Remote Access. Unfortunately, not all games support these modes, and on those that do -- Marathon in particular -- performance can be unplayably poky.
Inky Mess
Question:
I'm interested in refilling the cartridges in my Hewlett-Packard inkjet printer in lieu of buying a new printer cartridge. It seems like a great idea. What are the drawbacks to refilling your own cartridges?
Jackie Musil
via the Internet
CHRIS: One disadvantage is that some poor archaeologist working in the 29th century won't get that government grant because there'll be fewer plastic cartridges taking up space in 20th-century landfills.
The other disadvantage is that unless you know what you're doing, you're going to make a horrible mess and splatter ink from one end of your office to the other.
Unfortunately, over a year ago, Hewlett-Packard discontinued its line of cartridges that were a breeze to refill. The replacement cartridges are nearly impossible to refill without a dedicated refill kit.
BOB: It's so tough, in fact, that you'll find a stern warning on each new cartridge excusing HP from responsibility for any mistakes you make during the refilling process.
CHRIS: Although I've heard of people successfully refilling these cartridges by drilling holes, injecting the ink, and sealing the holes with a hot-glue gun, I'd forgo all the hassle and buy a refill kit.
Such kits contain ink, a syringe, the tools you need for the operation, and detailed instructions. Take heed of the instructions to create a vacuum with your syringe, or prepare to have the inside of your printer look like a Jackson Pollock painting.
I'm particularly keen on the approximately $40 black-ink kit (see figure 2) from Computer Friends (800-547-3303 or 503-626-2291). This right-thinking company supplies you with a reusable syringe and bottles of ink rather than disposable plastic ink injectors. Computer Friends makes refill kits for just about every inkjet printer -- color or monochrome -- on the market.
Figure 2 - It's noble, but not easy, to refill printer ink
cartridges. Rather than give up and throw your cartridges
in a landfill, try using a refill kit, such as this one
from Computer Friends, to make refilling a pleasant job.
BOB: Chris' advice is, as usual, worth more than the ink it's printed with.
Performa Anxiety
Question:
A medical-software rep told me that Performas are designed specifically for home use and are unsuitable for business use. Is there really a difference between a Mac and a Performa? I say the guy is bonkers.
David G. Holt
via the Internet
CHRIS: Now, now. I wouldn't go so far as to say the guy is bonkers. No, I think it's simply that his company has entrusted the key for the controlled-medications cupboard to the wrong person.
But even without the obvious drug abuse, you can hardly blame him for being confused. Straightening out the whole Performa/Mac thing isn't easy.
BOB: Nah, nothing to it. Performas are Macs with bundled monitors, keyboard, software, and (usually) a CD-ROM drive and a modem. The part that makes no sense is that the different Performa model numbers just barely correspond to those of their Mac brethren.
CHRIS: Think of each Performa as a Mac in a bundle in a colorful cardboard box with the Performa logo slapped on the outside. In many cases, these machines are exactly the same as the Mac they're based on.
For example, the Performa 6110 series (the 6110, 6112, 6115, 6116, 6117, and 6118) is based on the Power Mac 6100/60. These Performas contain the same PowerPC 601 processor and 8 MB of soldered RAM as the 6100/60. The only thing that separates the Performas from the regular ol' Mac -- other than the bundled software and the monitor -- is where they're sold, the capacity of the hard drive, and the inclusion of a CD-ROM player and modem.
BOB: I almost always recommend Performas for first-time computer users who have small or home-based businesses. With the killer bundle of software -- often worth more at retail than the hardware -- a Performa makes a wonderful first Mac. ClarisWorks is more than adequate for many business tasks, and it's just one of the programs that comes with every Performa.
CHRIS: The idea that a Performa can't be used for business is ludicrous. More important than the label on the outside is the stuff that makes the machine tick. To get the most-intimate poop on every Mac ever made, check out Mark Simmons' Mac Catalog Database (available exclusively through ZD Net/Mac; see end of article).
Out to Launch
Question:
Even though I put Launcher into the Startup Items folder, it doesn't show up at startup. How can I get it to do so?
Tyler Curtis
via the Internet
BOB: It's nice to get an easy one for a change. First of all, Launcher belongs in your Control Panels folder. Once you've moved it there, open the General Controls control panel and click on the check box labeled "Show Launcher at system startup." That'll do it.
Bob LeVitus is the director of evangelism for Power Computing. Christopher Breen and Bob are both Macintosh-book authors.
MacUser Online
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Tips - Childproofing
Hiding Folders
Here's a simple way to hide items from unsophisticated users (this example concerns folders, but it also applies to files): For this trick to work, you must first turn on "Always snap to grid" in the Views control panel. Then make sure the view is by icon (on the Finder's View menu) for any window your kids are likely to open.
Next, give any folder you want to hide a short name, such as Hide. Create a new folder with a longer name, such as Placebo. Drag the Placebo folder near the Hide folder but not so close that the Hide folder is highlighted, and let go of the mouse button. The Hide folder should now be hidden behind the Placebo folder. To reveal hidden files and folders, simply view your folders by name.
Antonio Corral Encinas
Salamanca, Spain
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