Jaques Law Bits 9510 You know how when you open a font from the finder, it displays a sample line of text using that font. If you want to change that sample line, edit Finder resource STR# 14516. I have discovered an odd problem. On my AppleTalk network, sometimes when I run an application, it runs it from a remote volume. This, of course, makes the machine sluggish to work but eager to crash. I put a suffix on all my Applications to identify the volume on which they reside. Once alerted to my problem, an associate of mine discovered he had been having this problem too, unwittingly. My main suspects, namely System 7.5, MacIntosh Easy Open, SpaceSaver, and Ethernet, were all absent from his network. Go figure. Incidentally, turning off program-sharing in the Sharing SetUp control panel makes no difference, either on the source or user machine. Perhaps we both have our startup volume separate from our applications volume. There is a big computer show in Vancouver, January 16­18, 1996 at the Trade and Convention Centre, called ³Comdex/PacRim². Register at www.comdex.com:8000 (enter customer code number) or fax to 604-685-1897, or mail to 300 First Avenue, Needham, MA, 02194­2722 USA. You probably have a bunch of replaced memory modules kicking around. They were much too valuable to throw out, but nobody wants them. Now Memory Traders will buy them. Try 1-800-315-7807. This might be an american number. To send email from Compuserve Information Manager to the Internet, put ³Send to: [name text]² in the name field, and ³Internet:[internet address]² in the address field. You must convert any files to text (use BinHex or StuffIt for instance). I think the files must be under 32k. Also note that the receipt you get just represents delivery to the Internet, not to the recipient. To get email on Compuserve from the Internet, you just have to accept the postage due charge. Note that if you use the Œget all¹ command, it just gets the Œpostage due¹ message and not the mail itself. If you get files, they will have been converted to text. Use something like Stuffit, Stuffit Expander, or BinHex to convert them back. To send email to Compuserve from the Internet, simply change the comma in the address to a period, then add the ³@compuserve.com². The PowerPC chip has finally come out in a PowerBook. They use a distinct chip, the 603e. They require System 7.5.2, which so far, only works with the PowerBooks. They feature an enhanced trackpad. They come with infrared communications (low power, uni­directional, max 6 feet), PCMCIA peripherals (fully compliant!), and a weird Œexpansion bay¹. You can put an extra battery, or a hard drive, or whatever, in the bay, but not a CD­ROM. MacUser reports disappointing speed in some models due to slow drives and video drivers, but easy access to the innards. The stereo speakers are out again, replaced by a single speaker. There is still an integrated mike. Apple promises to bring the Infrared into compliance with the IRDA standards which were incomplete when the design was finalized. Some ship with NiMH batteries (as did the old 100 and 500 series), but some ship with lithium ion (LiIon) batteries which are lighter but last twice as long. You can Œhot swap¹ batteries now and the batteries sport little LEDs to show their charge status. Conflict Catcher comes in a package with Stuffit Deluxe now. You can use Conflict Catcher to find out if files have code for the 68K machines, the PPC machines or both (hit the report system patches preference). Note, when 68K code patches a native part of the system, it really slows things down on a PPC. Used computers lying inactive? Most people are happy to donate them someplace, but where? The Computer Recycling Centre (415-428-3700) maintains a web page to its own and other recycling programs, at www.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/misc/crp/crp.html. ISDN is a type of phone line. There are many versions of the acronym, ranging from ³It Sounds Darn Nice². Anyway, instead of carrying an analog signal, it carries a digital signal. When you send something analog (voice/fax) your equipment translates it to digital, and the phone company translates it to analog if sending it on to non­ISDN lines. But if you are calling somebody who also uses an ISDN line, and you are using it for computer to computer communications, it is double plus good. You need a special modem, but you are not allowed to call it a modem, since it doesn¹t translate the digital information to analog sound. Farallon has come out with an ISDN router for less than $1,000.00 FileMaker is bringing out a relational version of its database for about $200US. I love Filemaker¹s interface and flexibility. It works as a server for no extra money. Well, I suspect its network functions of contributing to crashes, but the feature is free (compared to $1700 for 4D). The scripting is primitive, but it does support Apple Events. You may recall that I love my Power 100 from Power Computing which kicked the 8100¹s butt in price and performance. The service and support was excellent too. The price has just dropped about $700 on it. Power Computing has not yet delivered a computer with the PCI bus featured in Apple¹s 9500 (was it 30 times faster than NuBus?), but they promise it by the end of 1995. Better yet, it will offer mixed systems with both buses, so you can use your old NuBus cards. Better yet, it will offer multi­processing. Daystar already offers, in its top end computer, 4 high speed PPC 604 processors in a single computer. Apple may offer ³Fire Wire² as a PCI card. ³Fire Wire² is grossly faster than SCSI which it would replace or supplement. However, Power Computing may beat Apple to the draw on this. Power Computing is also considering 28.8 kbps modems on the motherboard, multiple serial ports, and pre­installed RAID disk arrays. MacUser reports, ³Quicken has signed up 19 major banks Š to enable customers to perform financial tasks on­lineŠ [with Quicken as] a home­based virtual automated­teller machine.² At least one credit card company lets you down­load the month¹s entries in a Quicken format already. The new WordPerfect is out. It features the ability to save files in HTML format (for creating home pages on the Web) and vertical justification (the ability to make the document fit on a desired number of pages). QuickTime 2.1¹s Sound Manager 3.1 is now native for the PowerPC. PlainTalk 1.4 (to translate speech to text) is out. It comes with the CD version of System 7.5.2 and a free upgrade is available from ftp.info.apple.com. You still need a PlainTalk microphone. The immensely popular PC game Doom is out for the Mac as Doom II. It plays like 3D­Wolfenstein. An 80mhz PPC runs it as fast as a 100 mhz Pentium. Marathon II is out. Pinnacle Micro has a new optical drive out with 4.6 GB per disk, with a 6mb/sec throughput. The drive is $1700US, and the cartridge is $200US. 1-800-553-7070 (may be american number). Adtron SDDS offers a SCSI device that fruns PCMCIA cards. 602-926-9324 ClarisWorks 4.0 is out. You still can¹t customize menus or do indexing or do dragNDrop editing.. You can output HTML. There are finally sections and styles. It is now an integrated outliner. It offers only the most basic AppleScript support. It can¹t directly import files from FileMaker, Excel 5, or Word 6. But hey, it is just part of a Œworks¹ package, so that¹s pretty good. 1-800-544-8554. Now Up­To­Date and Contact v. 3.5 is out. 1-800-722-5963 FaceSpan 2.0 lets you put your on interface on AppleScript¹able applications. Apparently, AppleScript handlers, properties, and window items are all available from popups. $200US, 1-800-322-3772. Get yourself a secret identity! eMail to anon.penet.fi. It is an old­fashioned mail drop. You get an address from it, then use it as your Œcover¹. When anything is mailed to your Œcover¹, it goes to the mail drop, which automatically forwards it to your real address. You set it up just by emailing an empty letter to it. I forget the address, but if you ask for it in a letter to daemon@anon.penet.fi or help@anon.penet.fi. Once you have your identity, you can use a Œnickname¹ instead of the gibberish identifier you get (email to nick@anon.penet.fi). Probably the CIA runs the thing. This Jaques Law Bits was delivered by: Kevin Jaques, B.A. LL.B. of the Jaques Law Office #101 - 2515 Victoria Avenue Fax: 525­4173 Regina, Saskatchewan Home: 586­2234 email: jaqlaw@eagle.wbm.ca Tel: 359­3041