Subject: Info-Mac Digest V16 #279
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="Info-Mac-Digest"

--Info-Mac-Digest

Info-Mac Digest             Wed, 31 Mar 99       Volume 16 : Issue 279

Today's Topics:

      [*] TidBITS#473/29-Mar-99
       [A] Word Pagination
      (A) Dragon Systems not abandoning the Mac after all
      (A) More Powerbook Questions
      (A) OS RAM utilization and VM
      (A) Programming on the Mac
      (more on) OS 8.5 and Word98 Printing
      (Q) Quicken Data Files
      .cpt file
      .vcf file
      .vcf file...
      17" AppleVision 1710 Display
      [A] Apple Laptops and Firewire
      [A] Backup hardware recommendations
      [Q] Anyone know of Replacement Zip cases
      Anybody try solarpanels with a Powerbook?
      Anybody try solarpanels with a Powerbook?
      Arranging windows as tiles
      Borders on tables in Office 98
      Dictation software for Macs?
      Dictation software for Macs?
      Does anyone still have the WriteNow 4.0 -> 4.02 Update?
      Don't laugh: a Mac LC & The Internet - do they bite or .. ?
      Excel 5.0 auto quits upon launching (Q)
      Excel 5.0 auto-quiting - problem solved
      Fwd: .vcf file...
      Hooking up a Radius 21" color display to a 7200
      iMac freezes
      Info-Mac Digest & Easy View
      Mac OS 8.5.1 and TCP/IP
      Macs and lawyers
      modems and Netscape
      modems and Netscape
      more PowerBook questions
      Oops! I got my knickers in a knot with Eudora's BCC
      Palm Desktop Problems and Questions
      Phone call over the Internet on Mac
      Power Computing Issues
      Q: something like peoplebook but...
      Secret propaganda in Word 98?
      Shareware  version of Jam?
      stuffit for NT or UNIX
      Why won't IE4.5 use StuffIt Expander instead of Deluxe?
      Zip problem!
      Zoom56Ke

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

--Info-Mac-Digest
Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------"
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Info-Mac Digest V16 #279"

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 21:00:00 -0800
From: TidBITS Editors <editors@tidbits.com>
Subject: [*] TidBITS#473/29-Mar-99

TidBITS#473/29-Mar-99

Network administrators take note! Matt Deatherage looks at Mac OS X 
Server's new NetBoot feature for booting iMacs and recent Power Mac 
G3s via Ethernet. Also this week, Adam examines Fog City's excellent 
LetterRip Pro mailing list management program in depth. In the news, 
Apple releases MRJ 2.1.1 and StarNine announces WebSTAR Server Suite 
4.0, which adds a mail capabilities and significant performance 
improvements to the popular server software.

Topics:
    MailBITS/29-Mar-99
    Das NetBoot
    Going Pro with LetterRip Pro

<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-473.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/issues/1999/TidBITS#473_29-Mar-99.etx>

[Archived as /info-mac/per/tb/tidbits-473.etx; 30K]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 14:35:21 -0800
From: "Maurice M. McNeil" <mmcneil@BBN.COM>
Subject:  [A] Word Pagination

> 2) More serious... in random files, automatic page break fails to appear
> between pp. 1 and 2, even with background repag. turned on.  Subesequent
> page breaks in these docs appear OK.
I might be able to help, but I need to understand the symptoms a 
little better. When you say automatic page break, do you mean the 
pages are running together on the printer or that it doesn't print 
the way it appears on screen. Are you using section breaks? One thing 
to consider:

1) Font substitution by the printer. You are using a font in the 
document for which the printer has no equivalent thus it substitutes 
a font which hammers the formatting you see on the screen.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 17:40:39 -0500
From: abrody@smart.net
Subject: (A) Dragon Systems not abandoning the Mac after all

Dear Digest readers,
After a bit of research I found their new product, Voice Power Pro for the
iMac and MacOS 8.5 will be coming out this month.    It is available for
DHL delivery from the UK at:

http://www.macgold.com

Watch

http://www.voicepowerpro.com for an update on the new release.

The system they presently have in the UK has 60 - 100 wpm recognition, and
a 120,000 word dictionary.     If somebody has close contact with
"MacWorld" magazine, please inform them that a speech recognition software
package is available for the Mac that is comparable to PC, and that they
should write about it at some point.

Sincerely,
abrody@smart.net

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 14:26:05 -0800
From: "Maurice M. McNeil" <mmcneil@BBN.COM>
Subject: (A) More Powerbook Questions

> I have a couple of more questions:
>
> 1.) How difficult is it to add memory to a 5300ce. I am fairly technically
> inclined but I've never been inside a Powerbook. Are instructions available
> anywhere or am I better off leaving this to an Apple Authorized Service
> Center?
It involves three  torx screws and the major problem is getting it 
all back together. For memory installation you only have to remove 
three screws on the bottom which hold in the keyboard which in turn 
holds in the wrist rest & trackpad. Getting the screws to catch is 
the reassembly problem. The other problem is that the parts are 
pretty closely packed and you need to ensure that they are all 
properly seated when you put it back together (e.g. battery 
connectors to motherboard). It will take you less than an hour to do, 
less than a half hour if you work quickly and without fear. Do ground 
yourself.

------------------------------

Date: 6 Mar 99 17:41:40 -0500
From: "D. Scott Beach" <sbeach@front.net>
Subject: (A) OS RAM utilization and VM

chuck@adsourceone.com (Chuck Mora) wrote:
I am running OS 8.5.1 on my Powerbook 5300cs and
recently upgraded my RAM to 56meg.  When running
1meg of VM (which is the default I believe) the "About
this Macintosh" window indicates that my system uses
12.2meg.  When I turn off VM this figure jumps to over
20meg.  It just doesn't seem to add up to me.

Chuck:
The other good folks reading this list pointed out to me that this occurs
because once VMemory is turned on the system uses the modern memory
manager. This allows the system (or any other PPC code) to be loaded in
pieces as they're needed them instead of all at a time.
You can Get Info on any PPC application and see a note at the bottom of the
memory allocation area that say's how much more or less the program would
need if virtual is (de)activated.
- Scott

Scott Beach <http://www.front.net/sbeach/> Toronto, Canada

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 20:32:57 -0500
From: abrody@smart.net
Subject: (A) Programming on the Mac

Dear Digest readers
Someone awhile ago was looking for a decent programming software for the
Mac.   Well for $40 the bronze edition of True Basic is still available!
True Basic was something I used in school to model classical physics
problems on the Mac.    The great thing about it, it was fast, and very
easy to use.     Part Fortran, part Pascal, and part Basic, True Basic
allows all you expect from a Basic program, and the ability to plot
algorithms.

Check out:

http://www.truebasic.com

Now while it isn't C, C++, or Java, for entry programming I would recommend
True Basic to all of my closest friends.

Sincerely,
abrody@smart.net

------------------------------

Date: 6 Mar 99 17:52:03 -0500
From: "D. Scott Beach" <sbeach@front.net>
Subject: (more on) OS 8.5 and Word98 Printing

"J. Feustle" <jfeustle@uoft02.utoledo.edu> wrote:
>Excuse me if this subject has been beaten to death already but I'm a very
>recent victim of what appears to be an odd incompatibility. After
>installing 8.5 I found that every time I try to print from MS Word 98, the
>computer locks up. Could someone point me to a patch or a workaround for
>this problem. Thanks.

Joe:
I haven't seen it discussed here yet. Let's beat it to death.
I thought it was some sort of conflict on my system or that I'd have to
re-install for it. I'm glad I'm not alone!
I often get around it by closing the document and then re-opening it before
sending it to print. That used to work, but on Friday I had to force quit
and then do a polite restart about five times. Anyone know what this is
about? (Microsnot would just get flushed from my system if I didn't have to
be compatible with documents sent from elsewhere.)
- Scott

Scott Beach <http://www.front.net/sbeach/> Toronto, Canada

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 06:51:06 -0800
From: "Sisson, Mike" <SISSOMI@mail.northgrum.com>
Subject: (Q) Quicken Data Files

I recently upgraded from Quicken 7 to Quicken 98. (My bank forced me to in
order to continue to use Online Banking.) In doing so, I ran into a problem
hopefully someone out there has the solution to. 

As a practice I have kept two data files. My master data file has
transactions from 1989 to 1996. My current data file has 1997 to present.
When Quicken upgraded the data files to 98 format, the current data file
bloated so much that it won't fit on a floppy anymore. (I always back up my
current data file to a floppy when I close Quicken.) No problem I think.
I'll just strip the 1997 and 1998 transactions out of the current file
(making it smaller) and add them in to the master file. What I am finding
out is that while I can easily make the current file smaller and strip out
the 1997 and 1998 data, getting it added in to the master file is a whole
other story. When I try to use export/import I get double transactions in
the master file and it ends up being a big mess. I tried calling Intuit. I
find out that there is no more free technical support. $19.95 per question
now. I spoke to a tech who told me not to use import/export. He verified
that I would get the double entries, etc... Said that what I wanted to do
could be done with "Save a Copy" in the file menu but that to tell me any
more he would have to charge me the $19.95. I wasn't confident enough in him
to go on.

So, my question is whether anyone out there has accomplished adding
transactions into an existing file and how you did it. As always, any help,
hints and/or constructive suggestions will be appreciated.

Mike

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 16:17:03 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: .cpt file

>Help! What's a .cpt file and what do I need to open it with? TIA.

A Compact Pro archive.  Should be openable with Stuffit Expander.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 20:47:13 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: .vcf file

>What's a .vcf file and what do I need to open it with?

It contains automatic contact information for the sender of the message.  
Works with Microsoft Outlook, useless for everyone else.  I use a script 
to put them straight into the Trash.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 13:26:10 -0600
From: Gib Henry <gibhenry@realpeople.com>
Subject: .vcf file...

>Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 10:36:57 PST
>From: "Randall G. Floyd" <Randall.Floyd@sdms.usa.xerox.com>
>Subject: .vcf file...
>
>Hi,
>
>What's a .vcf file and what do I need to open it with?

As best as I'm able to determine, there is no Mac software for dealing
with .vcf files.  On Windoze machines, they can be added to some
application which stores them as virtual business card files, so in
effect you have a database of contacts, including various forms of
contact such as e-mail, voice, fax, beeper, and snail-mail.

If anyone knows of a Mac counterpart, I'd love to know about it!  If
not...how about it, enterprising Mac shareware authors?  I'd like to
see a cross-platform file standard for contacts, which would be
self-extensible to include all the above forms of contact, plus any
you'd like to add on the fly (NextTel extension number, CB handle,
whatever).  Then, every application could access it, and you'd have
only ONE contact database for EVERYTHING!  Cheers,
--
Gib

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 08:51:12 +0200
From: Michael Silverstein <michaels@techunix.technion.ac.il>
Subject: 17" AppleVision 1710 Display

I have a 2 year old + a few months 17" AppleVision 1710 that just stopped
displaying. One day it was 100%, the next day - power but no display. I
tried resetting as advised at Apple's web site, but no luck.

My local dealer confirmed that the monitor was dead and said that there was
a problem with those displays, but the extended warranty ran out 12/98.

A monitor failure after 2 years is unacceptable - my 1989 14" AppleColor
Monitor is still in great shape (touch wood).

1) Can someone out there tell me who I can contact at Apple (telephone,
fax, e-mail) to argue the case for a replacement.

2) My local dealer is trying to sell me the new 17" Apple Studio Display,
but after this experience, I do not think I will go that way. I am looking
for a graphic-arts quality 17" or 19" dispay - any recommendations?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Michael Silverstein
Materials Engineering
Technion

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 21:00:40 -0500
From: "Michael I. Bell" <mike.bell@nrl.navy.mil>
Subject: [A] Apple Laptops and Firewire

At 16:32 -0600 on 03/01/99, A. Scottedward Hodel <scotte@eng.auburn.edu> wrote:

> Apple's new G3 desktops and iMacs are enticing with the new accessible
> internal parts and the updated connections via Firewire/USB ports.  I've
> received lots of good feedback on the current Laptop offerings, even
> at the low end 233Mhz machine (currently at around $2k).  However, the
> laptops are still using SCSI port connections.  Is there any news on
> forthcoming Firewire-based laptops or on docking adapters for current G3
> laptops so that they can take advantage of the new connection standards?

I have asked the same question, and there seems to be good news on the way.
Adaptec, http://websvr1.adaptec.com/adaptec/news/1998apr01.html#road, has
announced a Cardbus to IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire) adapter, due out in the 4th
quarter.  One is already available from RATOC Systems,
http://www.rexpccard.co.jp/english/products/cbfw1.html, but it ships with
Windows software only, and I have no idea how difficult a MacOS driver
would be.
The cost is also high, 36 900 Yen (just over $300), so we have to hope that
the Adaptec version will be more reasonably priced.  I have paid less
attention to USB adapters, but ADS Technologies is offering a card with two
USB ports,
http://www.adstech.com/Products/USB%20Port%20Card%20Bus.html, which lists
for $119.  The description says it requires Windows 98 (presumably for USB
support), but the list of compatible laptops includes the PowerBook G3.

For years, I have carried all my working files on a small SCSI drive
(anyone remember the PocketDrive from LaCie?) and docked the thing to a
desktop machine at work or at home or to my laptop.  Not having to
synchronize files among the three machines has been well worth the premium
cost/megabyte of the little portable drive.  After do-it-yourself upgrades
of the PocketDrive from 80 to 160, 250 and finally 850 Mb, I'm running out
of space again, and I can't find 2.5" SCSI drives bigger than 1 Gb.  So,
something like the VST FireWire drive
http://www.vsttech.com/firewire_hard_drives.html is really attractive, once
I upgrade my home machine to a "Blue and White" G3 and buy the necessary
adapters for the PCI-bus machine at work and my laptop.

Michael Bell, Physicist, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC

The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.  My employer does not have
any.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 11:49:03 -0500
From: "Douglas W. St.Clair" <dwstclair@tellink.net>
Subject: [A] Backup hardware recommendations

Mark Allen wrote:

>Hi!
>
>I'm seeking recommendations for backup hardware:
>
>I want to do regular whole disk (up to 9 GB of files) unattended backups.
>Is there a removable media solution that is appropriate?

The key word is "unattended" if you use anything but tape the jukebox
required to change media is really, really expensive (try $10,000 plus) so
DAT (Tape) is the answer at about 1/10 the cost.

>
>I want to do archival (long-term) backups on key files (a few hundred
>MB's). Are rewritable CDROM drives as efficient as magneto-optical drives?
>Do the respective media have equally long lifetimes?

Now you got a problem. You shouldn't trust tape for more than 18 - 24
months. At that point you should restore it to disk and back it up again
onto a new (or the same) tape.

Backups aren't archives. A backup stores and more importantly recovers
information based on date and filename, not content. If you want to recover
information based on content use an archive. You can't recover the memo
that discusses (whatever) from a backup unless you know the date and
filename. An email program that makes up its own file names makes finding
the right one from a backup very hard. If the information is largely
textual you can separate the information into projects and each project
might fit on a single CD-ROM. Create a partition equal to the size of a
CD-ROM, copy the project to it, use Sherlock to index it, save the index in
the partition, then copy the entire partition to a CD-ROM (or three for
off-site storage and to backup, the backup). If the data is mostly image
data then you may need to use a media database with keywords to make the
data assessable years from now. You might also want to store the rules for
assigning keywords on the disks so that other people can figure out where
stuff is in the event of your untimely demise.

If you are planning to keep this information a long time make sure you save
a machine and software that can read it for a long time. Don't forget that
some software is licensed annually and you need to keep the licenses valid
for the life of the archive.

Well enough free consulting if someone wants to throw money at me to
continue write your questions on the back of a $20 bill and send them on.
<g>
>
>Thanks!
>
>Mark

END
**************************************************

               Douglas W. St.Clair

(in New Hampshire)              (in Massachusetts)
Tir Na Nog                       30 George St.
400 Burton Highway               Newton, MA 02458-2309
Wilton. NH 03086-5022
PH: 603-654-9321                 PH: 617-233-3387 or
FAX: 603-654-5440                PH: 617-BEEF-FUR

EMAIL: dwstclair@tellink.net

WebSite: http://www.tellink.net/~dwstclair
**************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 10:21:27 -0500
From: Philip Emery <noise@oil.ca>
Subject: [Q] Anyone know of Replacement Zip cases

Has anyone ever seen replacement cases for zip disks? You'd think with how
popular they've become that they would be as common as CD cases. I've never
been able to find any.

Most of my cases have cracks or are just falling apart.

Any help would be much appreciated.

***********************************************************
Philip D. Emery                One Dog Digs Design
                                        it's "Good Design"
onedog@soup.net                   http://www.oil.ca/~noise/
***********************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 20:52:34 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: Anybody try solarpanels with a Powerbook?

>Anybody try to run the Powerbook G3 off of solarpanels?  [...]
>With Y2K coming, and 
>no guarantees that the electric company will be able to power us into 
>the next millenium, a solarpanel for the Powerbook may be the only 
>way to still have a functional portable computer.

Solar panels can be used to power a PalmPilot or eMate, but the energy 
draw of a laptop computer is too high to get a running charge from solar. 
 The laptop panels that I've seen are used to augment battery life -- 
start off with a full charge, add the panels, and you'll get a few more 
hours out of the batteries in direct sunlight.  Using only the panels, 
however, you'd have to charge in direct sunlight for hours in order to 
get an hour or so of usable time.

I don't know who's making them, but a web search for "solar panel" and 
"laptop" is probably a good start.

I also can't let the Y2K reference pass.  The odds against a serious 
long-term power outage are extremely high; there may be sound reasons to 
switch to renewable power, but Y2K isn't one of them.  And think of it 
this way... if the catastrophic failure you're envisioning really comes 
to pass, you'll be too busy foraging for food to worry about whether the 
PowerBook is functional.  (Although a PowerBook with solar panels would 
make a great bludgeon for small game.)  Y2K is certainly going to cause 
many inconveniences and maybe even a few minor disasters, but you'll 
still have some access to electricity.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 21:58:07 -0500
From: "Dominic F. Manno" <dommanno@bellatlantic.net>
Subject: Anybody try solarpanels with a Powerbook?

In Info-Mac Digest  V.16  #269, abrody@smart.net asked:

>Anybody try to run the Powerbook G3 off of solarpanels?  What is the
>most cost efficient solution you have found?   With Y2K coming, and
>no guarantees that the electric company will be able to power us into
>the next millenium, a solarpanel for the Powerbook may be the only
>way to still have a functional portable computer.

Haven't you ever heard of batteries?

Dominic F. Manno
dommanno@bellatlantic.com
"If you understand, things are as just they should be. If you do not
understand, then things are just as they should be." (Zen proverb)

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 21:32:17 +0100
From: buhrmest@uke.uni-hamburg.de (Hartmut Buhrmester)
Subject: Arranging windows as tiles

> Subject: Arranging windows as tiles
> 
> Dear Digest readers,
> Surely somebody has thought of this, but if not, I am recommending a 
> shareware author make a program to allow the Mac to tile windows 
> regardless of the application. 

As a start, I once wrote a little AppleScript which arranges the two
frontmost Finder windows side by side, assuming a monitor resolution of
640 x 480 pixels:

tell application "Finder"
        activate
        try
                tell front window
                        set view to name
                        set position to {3, 41}
                        set size to {280, 436}
                        reveal first item
                end tell
                tell second window
                        set view to name
                        set position to {286, 41}
                        set size to {280, 436}
                        reveal first item
                end tell
        on error
        end try
end tell

Hartmut Buhrmester
-- 
Hartmut Buhrmester <buhrmest@plexus.uke.uni-hamburg.de>

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 13:47:19 +0100
From: "Simon Elliott" <selliott@terminal.cz>
Subject: Borders on tables in Office 98

Problem with G3 Powerbook, Word 98 (Office 98)

When I select a table, open "borders and shading" and click on "grid" format
for the table borders, Word 98 produces thin lines for the perimeter and all
the horizontal lines, and thick lines for the vertical lines in the middle
of the table.   This is almost completely the reverse of what should happen.

It then takes some playing around to get it all as it should be.

Can anybody help, please?

Simon Elliott, Prague

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 15:43:51 +1100
From: T&B <list-info-mac@tandb.com.au>
Subject: Dictation software for Macs?

We looked into this a while back and summarised our disappointing findings at:
http://www.tandb.com.au/research/dictation/

Tom
T&B
http://www.tandb.com.au

 ---- in reply to:
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 8:58 PM -0800
Subject: Dictation software for Macs?
From: Ros Sharp <rossharp@yahoo.com>

<snip>

looking for software that will allow kids to dictate to the macintosh and have it type what they say. 

<snip>

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 20:57:59 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: Dictation software for Macs?

>A colleague who works with learning disabled students is looking for
>software that will allow kids to dictate to the macintosh and have it
>type what they say.

Unfortunately, speech for the Mac is Not Quite There Yet.  You can start 
off with PlainTalk from Apple (http://speech.apple.com), which recognizes 
a very limited vocabulary and is primarily useful for command and 
control.  The most promising development in continuous speech recognition 
for dictation is MacSpeech (http://www.macspeech.com); their products 
aren't done yet, but they have some starter software available.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 00:26:54 -0000
From: David Senator <dsenator@wenet.net>
Subject: Does anyone still have the WriteNow 4.0 -> 4.02 Update?


Does anyone still have the WriteNow 4.0 -> 4.02 Update? It used to
be on Info-Mac, but it's not there any longer, and SoftKey's web site has
only the 4.01 -> 4.02 update.  Or Maybe writenow 4.0 to 4.0.1?

Thank you DS

***************************************************************************
***************************************************************************

P.S. I love this prayer someone sent me:

So far today, God, I've done alright.  I haven't gossiped, haven't lost 
my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over-indulgent. 
I'm really glad about that, but in a few minutes,   God, I'm going to get 
out of bed, and from then on I'm probably going to need a lot more help.  
Thank you.  Amen.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 03:23:27 -0800
From: Rowdy Blokland <rowdyb@xs4all.nl>
Subject: Don't laugh: a Mac LC & The Internet - do they bite or .. ?

.. or, can a Mac LC be used to surf the Internet without data 
  dripping in like frozen honey?

  See, it's not my fault - my girlfriend bought a Mac LC back in 1991
  - right now, one'd have to pull a gun to someone's head to ever
  sell one -, and the darn thing simply refuses to break down, 
  or explode, or open a window at jump out of it by itself, so:

  QUESTION: A Mac LC with NE-7.5 system software and 4 MB ram; 
            can it really be used to, perhaps modestly, 
            surf the Internet?

  Any hints, comments and pointers are more than welcome, 
  here or in my mailbox, 
  thanks in advance!
  Rowdy Blokland, 
  science journalist, 
  The Netherlands.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 13:15:49 -0600
From: Gib Henry <gibhenry@realpeople.com>
Subject: Excel 5.0 auto quits upon launching (Q)

>Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 12:33:15 -0500
>From: abrody@smart.net
>Subject: Excel 5.0 auto quits upon launching (Q)
>
>Dear Digest readers,
>It was working just fine, and all of a sudden, today everytime I
>launch Excel it quits with no dialog box as soon as it launches.
>
>System 8.5.1
>Powerbook G3/233 Wall Street
>96MB  of RAM
>Virtual Memory off
>Conflict Catcher 8.0.4
>GoMac 2.0
>Action Utilities 1.2
>FinderPop 1.7.7
>
>Is this odd or what is going on here?  Please respond directly to me,
>as I don't always have time to read through the group.

I experienced a similar strange problem with Excel 4:  it would crash
about 70% of the time when opening any document, either by command-O,
drag-n-drop, or double-clicking.  I don't know what caused it, but it
SEEMS to have ceased now.

I had tried replacing the application and its prefs without results.
I'm not even sure the problem is gone now.  But it does SEEM to help if
you leave a document window open when choosing to open another window.

I'd be interested in the fix if you find one.  Cheers,
--
Gib

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 14:49:35 -0500
From: abrody@smart.net
Subject: Excel 5.0 auto-quiting - problem solved

Dear Digest readers,
Turned out it was GoMac 2.0.  When it's extension and control panel were
enabled, everytime I would open Excel from the Finder, Excel would simply
auto-quit before even showing its splash screen.    I have informed the
author of, and hopefully there will be a fix soon.

Sincerely,
abrody@smart.net

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 21:06:26 -0800
From: Daly Jessup <jessup@san.rr.com>
Subject: Fwd: .vcf file...

Randall asked:

>What's a .vcf file and what do I need to open it with?

it's a little "ID card" or "business card" that gets automatically sent by
browsers if they are set to send it. (In Netscape preferences, go to Mail
And News category and select the "identity" screen, and you will see the
option to attached a "Vcard".)

I dislike them. I suspect that some people sending them don't even know
they are doing it.

Anyway, I think you can open them with SimpleText. Try different text
editors - they are just little data sheets about the person who sends it.
I always delete them because I consider them unsoliticed attachments.

Daly

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 21:08:34 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: Hooking up a Radius 21" color display to a 7200

>Is it possible using this adaptor to 
>hook up a Radius 21" display to the 7200/75?  The 7200/75 has 4MB 
>VRAM already.

According to GURU, your PowerMac can drive 16-bit video at 1280 by 1024, 
so you definitely don't need a new card.

My guess is that you just need to figure out the right combination of dip 
switches.  If it's a four-switch model, and you know that one has to be 
on, that leaves you with (2^3) 8 combinations to try.  If you've got a 
ten switch model, you've got over 500 combinations to try -- so I'd hit a 
few websites looking for those lost instructions.

You can also buy a new adaptor for $20-30; I recommend the ones with the 
dials rather than the DIP switches, as they're much easier to work with.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: 5 Mar 99 21:54:06 +0000
From: "Gavin and Pauline" <Gavin.Haines@btinternet.com>
Subject: iMac freezes

On Fri, Mar 5, 1999 9:31 am,  lanalon@aol.com (LanAlon) wrote:
>How do I restart an iMac after it freezes?

It is COMMAND-OPTION-SHIFT-POWER
i.e.  hold down the "apple", "alt", "shift" and press the power key.
Failing that, open the access panel on the right of the machine, find the
reset hole (the top hole near the ethernet socket) and insert the
traditional bent paper clip.

Likely cause of iMac freezes: 

1. Software CDs installed in wrong order. (For example scanner software
installed before printer driver was installed)
2. Virtual memory not turned on when you only have 32 meg in the machine.

Things to try: turn on Virtual Memory, Re-install System Software, and
Application CD, put "RAM doubler 8.1" on the machine.  If you have an older
version of RAM doubler on your old Mac, you can update it to RAM doubler 8
by downloading a free update.  Email it to yourself as an attachment, if
your iMac is network or floppy disk impaired.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 13:18:03 -0600
From: Gib Henry <gibhenry@realpeople.com>
Subject: Info-Mac Digest & Easy View

>Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 17:45:34 -0600
>From: "Bill Shack" <wjs@et.anl.gov>
>Subject: Info-Mac Digest & Easy View
>
>OE appears to strip out the settext markers.  The only way I can get it
>to
>work is process the text and put the set text markers back in.  I have a
>One
>Click button that I just drag the file onto and it does the work, but it
>would be easy to have Tex-Edit record an Apple Script that does it. You
>have
>to search for
><return> & "Date:"
>
>and replace it with
>
>"------------------------------" & <return> & "Date:"
>
>and strip out
>
>"----------------------------------------------------------------------"
>------------------------------

Yeah, CommuniGator does the same thing.  It has something to do with
MIME, I think.  Only suggestion I can make is to mess with your MIME
settings.  Hope this helps.  Let me know if you find a solution.
Cheers,
--
Gib

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 09:08:20 -0500
From: "Patrick Ellis" <ellis@champlaincollege.qc.ca>
Subject: Mac OS 8.5.1 and TCP/IP

Dear fellow readers,

1) We recently upgraded 4 Power Mac 7200/75 to 64MB RAM and OS 8.5.1
The only recurring problem that is experienced is an intermittent
network "drop-off"
that is - after a period of time, items over the network (ethernet)
disappear.  This
has occurred with printers, a server (an old 660AV set up in my office
running OS 8.1
and FileSharing) and internet.  With MacOS 8.1, I did not experience
this.
The specifics of each are as follows;

a) User cannot print.  Check the Chooser, and printers that were visible
at startup time
as well as for most of the day, are no longer visible.  Restarting the
Mac is the only way
to clear up the problem.

b) With the 660AV Server, I'll unexpectedly receive a message stating
that "The file
server's connection has unexpectedly closed down [time and date].  Going
to the
Network Browser application, the server is present and can be
re-accessed.  Other
Macs are also able to access the server at the time of the error
message.

c) TCP/IP, active, 'Load only when Needed' disabled as per Apple TIL
recommendation. Obtains an I.P. address from the DCHP server (running
off of NT 4.0) at boot-up. After a period of time, launching Netscape
results in the "lack of resources" dialog that you receive when no
connection/I.P address is available.  This is the same time when the
printers disappear.  The I.P address that was obtained at startup
earlier is still visible in the TCP/IP Control Panel but only restarting
the Mac will clear up the problem.

(note: Finder Info states TCP/IP is 2.0.1, TCP/IP info states that it is
TCP 2.0.2)

I have tried everything I could think of including deleting the
AppleTalk and TCP/IP
prefs and zapping the PRAM - still happens.  The network Admin insists
that it is not the network or the NT server.  Ironically, our 1 Mac with
the French version of OS 8.5 (no update to 8.5.1) hasn't experienced
this problem (yet - coincidence or not?).  I am going to try reverting
back to TCP/IP 2.0.1 hoping that will clear the problem up, though I am
somewhat pessimistic.  Has anyone had a similar experience and solution?

Sorry for the long post.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pat Ellis

Media Center Technician - Champlain College
<ellis@champlaincollege.qc.ca>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 18:37:17 -0500
From: rpluta@spam.me.not.earthlink.net (Robert Pluta)
Subject: Macs and lawyers

Greetings IM'ers,

I recall once hearing about a user group of some sort dealing with Macs
and their use in the practice of law.

A relative of mine is leaning towards the purchase of a Mac. Can anyone
supply some resources which he can consider in his assessment of Mac. He's
got internet connection.

TIA,
Rob

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 17:15:43 -0800
From: "Don, Cathy Jo and Cory" <chesnuts@att.net>
Subject: modems and Netscape

>1./ I have a Global Village Platinum Fax/modem upgraded to 33.6 which has
>served me well, but I would like faster connections. Would the new Global
>Village 56Kbps Fax/modem make a significant difference to connection speeds?

Thanks to generous in-laws and a very specific Christmas wish, I did
exactly the upgrade you are contemplating last December.  We have been
delighted.

I have read some complaints about the GV modems but we have had them, four
in all, since we first got a Mac umpty-bump years ago and have experienced
no problems.

Web pages load much faster and downloads are completed in much less time.
All in all, the V.90 has made our online experience much less of a "world
wide wait."  The only concern would be that your ISP supports the 56k V.90
standard.  Check that before you shell out for this or any other 56k modem.

Hope this helps

Don

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 21:19:23 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: modems and Netscape

>Would the new Global
>Village 56Kbps Fax/modem make a significant difference to connection speeds?

Yes, provided your local telephone lines are in decent shape.  Check with 
your ISP and see if they offer 56k dial-up service.  If you want to be 
extra certain, borrow a friend's 56k modem and test it on your phone line 
to see if it connects well.

>why does my external HD seem to do all the Netscape work even though I
>haven't booted from it? How can I get the work to be done by my internal
>drive?

Sounds like both Netscape programs are cueing to the same cache folder on 
the external drive.  (Alternately, it might be using your internal drive, 
while other system activity is causing your external drive to be accessed 
-- if your internal is quieter, you might not be hearing it.)

Boot off the internal and unmount the external by dragging it to the 
Trash, then run Netscape.  Without access to the external drive, it 
should reset to using the internal for its storage.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 20:41:41 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: more PowerBook questions

>1.) How difficult is it to add memory to a 5300ce. I am fairly technically
>inclined but I've never been inside a Powerbook. Are instructions available
>anywhere or am I better off leaving this to an Apple Authorized Service
>Center?

It's fairly simple, but read my answer to 2) below before you do 
anything.  You basically pop off the back, hinge up the cover plastic, 
remove the keyboard, and add the memory card.  Complete instructions are 
in the 5300 manual, which can be downloaded in PDF format from Apple.

>2.) The screen (lid) is very difficult to open and close. So much so that
>the LCD display has separated from the bezel at the bottom. 

Sounds like your machine needs a warranty repair.  The 5300s had some 
design flaws that were severe enough that Apple has a seven-year warranty 
program on them, and separated plastics is one of them.  (Loose AC 
connectors is another.)  Call 800/SOS-APPL and ask about getting it 
serviced.

Note that if you try to add memory first, you might not be able to get 
the warranty repair after.

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 21:24:51 -0000
From: Jeff Porten <porten@ricochet.net>
Subject: Oops! I got my knickers in a knot with Eudora's BCC

>I sent out a number of BCC emails... what appears is
>a message that says "To: Recipient List Suppressed:;"

Next time, send it To: yourself and BCC: everyone else.  That'll appear 
in the headers as:

To: <your address>
BCC: <recipient's address>

Best,
Jeff Porten

-----
Jeff Porten, Millennium Consulting                     porten@ricochet.net

Web design, online databases, FileMaker development, and site
hosting.  What's your project?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 07:19:25 -0500
From: Alan Stein <stein@math.uconn.edu>
Subject: Palm Desktop Problems and Questions

I just downloaded Palm Desktop from the the 3Com site and, while it has
convinced me that the Palm Pilot will be my next hi-tech toy, I'm having
two minor problems and have a couple of questions.

Problems:

1.The installation placed the "Serial Port Monitor" in my Startup folder,
which created a "serial port is in use" error when I tried using my modem.
Right now, I easily solved that problem by removing it from my Startup
folder, but I suspect that will be a problem when I get my new toy.

2. I'm getting a message that Palm Desktop quit unexpectedly everytime I
quit the application.

Questions:

1. Which models will synchronize with a PowerMac through its printer or
modem ports?

2. Which models will synchronize with one of the newer Macs through a USB
port? (Since I expect to replace my aging PowerMac with an IMac in the
not-too-distant future.)

Alan Stein  stein@math.uconn.edu  http://www.math.uconn.edu/~stein

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 11:57:51 -0800 (PST)
From: Adam Gesztelyi <vebmester@yahoo.com>
Subject: Phone call over the Internet on Mac


Hello,

Greetings to the Info-Mac digest! :)
I've just looked around for a possibility to call phones or other
connected computers over the internet.
There are a lot of these services and programs, the problem is that
all of them seem to be Windows only.

Does anyone know about such a program for the Mac???

Please CC private too.

Thanks,
Adam(R)
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 17:23:53 -0800
From: "Diane M. Ross" <dross@inetarena.com>
Subject: Power Computing Issues

On 3/4/99, Douglas W. St.Clair (dwstclair@tellink.net), wrote the 
following:

> I got a Power Computing Power Tower Pro 250 with the understanding Apple
> would support them. I just tried upgrading to 8.5.1 and a lot of stuff
> seemed to break. I dropped back to 8.0 and am trying to figure out where to
> go next. I also have been advised that Apple has not tested, or has
> announced a date to test, clones.
>
> 1. Is anyone else having a problem with a clone and 8.5.1?
> 2. Has anyone any information on Apples "commitment" to clones?
> END

I have a PowerTowerPro 180 running 8.5.1 with no problems. The problems you
are having with applications breaking has nothing to do with your computer,
it's just that a lot of applications need to be upgraded to work under 8.5.

I believe that Apple has dropped it's support for clones. Just because they
are not supporting it doesn't mean the OS will not work, it's just not
supported. I expect that when OS X is released this might not be true.

HTH,

Diane 

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 12:34:39 +0100
From: cgil@recoletos.es (Carlos Gil Diaz)
Subject: Q: something like peoplebook but...

Hi, everybody at this useful list!
Does anybody know whether there is archived any freeware utility
Peoplebook-like but with a box to add some comments about the person whose
date you enter (for instance, "she/he is very interested in...")?
Thanks in advance
Carlos Gil
Madrid/Spain

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 10:43:52 -0800
From: Paul Brians <brians@mail.wsu.edu>
Subject: Secret propaganda in Word 98?

I think I've discovered secret propaganda for MS-DOS buried in Word 98's
grammar checker. In the phrase "About how much time do you spend" it
flagged the string "much time do" and suggested I replace it with the
cryptic but suggestive phrase "many time dos".

: > )

Paul Brians, Department of English
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-5020
brians@wsu.edu
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 18:39:38 -0500
From: rpluta@spam.me.not.earthlink.net (Robert Pluta)
Subject: Shareware  version of Jam?

Hi,

Is anyone aware of a shareware app which can do the things which Adaptec's
Jam can do? I'd like to do some basic manipulation of mp3 and other sound
files but there's no way I can justify $300 for Jam.

TIA,
Rob

-- 
rpluta at earthlink dot net

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 11:08:41 -0800
From: Greg Lyzenga <lyzenga@THUBAN.AC.HMC.EDU>
Subject: stuffit for NT or UNIX

I recently had the following request from a PC-centric friend:

>If you run across a program which generates Mac-friendly archives
>(.SIT?) from NT or UNIX, that would be great.  Right now I'm using ZIP,
>but this is a PC archive, I believe.

Can anyone suggest a solution?  Thanks x 10^6.

                                      - Greg Lyzenga

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 15:03:24 -0500
From: Vincent Cayenne <vin@audiophile.com>
Subject: Why won't IE4.5 use StuffIt Expander instead of Deluxe?

OK - I give up. Every time I download a .sit file from within MS 
Internet Explorer 4.5, the archive is opened in StuffIt Deluxe as 
opposed to being expanded by StuffIt Expander.

If I change settings to try to set the file type/application to 
StuffIt Expander, then it works as I intend only for the session but 
reverts to the "Deluxe" settings when next opened.

I've tried deleting Internet Preferences, Internet Config extension, 
Mac Easy Open preferences, PC Exchange prefs. I've tried setting the 
helpers from Internet Config, Internet Explorer, Configuration 
Manager and those in PC Exchange.

The only anomaly I can discern is that there only seems to be a TEXT 
type for StuffIt Expander. So, assuming that StuffIt Deluxe _HAS_ to 
own the file, why can't it permanently relinquish the HANDLING of the 
file to Expander?

----- Background -----
PWB1400c, 8.1, OT1.3

The settings in IE4.5's preferences/file helpers are as follows:
Name: StuffIt 5.0 Archive
extension: .sit
MIME: application/x-stuffit
file type/
application: StuffIt Deluxe
type: SIT5
creator: SIT!
encoding: Binary data
use for: Incoming, Outgoing
download destination: Download Folder
Handling/
Post process with application
Application: StuffIt Expander

StuffIt 1.5 archives are type "SIT!" and pre-5.0 StuffIt archives are 
type "SITD".

My versions are:
MSIE 4.5
Internet Config v2.02
StuffIt Deluxe 5.02
StuffIt Expander 5.1
Aladdin DropStuff 5.1

Aladdin StuffIt SpaceSaver is disabled.
---------
"Crumpled bits of paper filled with imperfect thoughts"
(Rutherford/Robertson)

Vincent Cayenne
<mailto:vin@audiophile.com>

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 19:04:44 -0500
From: "Douglas W. St.Clair" <dwstclair@tellink.net>
Subject: Zip problem!

>I have a PPC Macintosh; 550/225; 8GB HD; running OS8.5.1.
>
>Recently I removed the internal 2.1GB HD in favour of the 8GB now
>installed, and prior to that I had no problems with my Iomega Zip drive.
>However, since the swap over I am unable to start up the Mac -a blank
>screen only- with the Zip drive attached. If I disconnect the Zip
>everything is fine! The change of HD is the only thing that took place.
>
>I have checked the cables, connections, ID # and termination but still
>cannot solve the problem.
>
>Any ideas what the solution may be?

There were some problems with the ZIP cable. If memory serves the cable
(and it must be the ZIP supplied cable) must come from the computer to the
zip drive and then  on to whatever.

------

I am curious why the sender forged his return address?
550 <me@none.co.uk>... Host unknown (Name server: none.co.uk: host not found)
Final-Recipient: RFC822; me@none.co.uk
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.2
Remote-MTA: DNS; none.co.uk
Last-Attempt-Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 19:57:26 -0500 (EST)
END
**************************************************

               Douglas W. St.Clair

(in New Hampshire)              (in Massachusetts)
Tir Na Nog                       30 George St.
400 Burton Highway               Newton, MA 02458-2309
Wilton. NH 03086-5022
PH: 603-654-9321                 PH: 617-233-3387 or
FAX: 603-654-5440                PH: 617-BEEF-FUR

EMAIL: dwstclair@tellink.net

WebSite: http://www.tellink.net/~dwstclair
**************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 14:53:02 -0500
From: Roger Wise <rogerlou@dnsonline.net>
Subject: Zoom56Ke

Is anyone using a Zoom 56Ke dualmodem on a Power PC 6500/250 with OS8.5.1
installed without trouble? Also I am trying to use FaxStf Pro 5.0. If
anyone is having sucess, please contact me off list with your configuration.
TIA
Roger

I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who
we are, but WE are responsible for who we become.
Roger Wise(rogerlou@dnsonline.net)
Mac 6500

--------------------------------

--Info-Mac-Digest--

End of Info-Mac Digest
******************************