This issue of TidBITS brings an encore to our popular issue #104, which focussed on System 7. This time we have a bunch more System 7 frequently asked questions and answers, along with an editorial on the virtues of the now-obsolete Quadra 700, a report on a nasty and long-standing bug in the Hierarchical Filing System, neat tricks with internal CD-ROM drives, and a passel of MailBITS, including one especially for PowerBook 100 and Duo owners.
We don't know how many of you have been with us since TidBITS#001, but those who have might realize that this issue marks the beginning of the fourth year of TidBITS
WorldScript info is available from Apple at 800/776-2333, so if you have questions about what script modules are available or how to get them, call that number and choose either 4 or 5 from the voicemail system
ThoughtPattern Discontinued -- Stephen Zagerman of Bananafish Software announced that the company has suspended all marketing and technical support for ThoughtPattern and is searching for a U.S
TeleFinder 3.0 -- Spider Island Software, makers of the graphical BBS software TeleFinder, announced version 3.0 of the TeleFinder Group Edition Host software, which can be fully controlled via Apple events and Frontier or AppleScript
Sleeping Floppies -- Rich Wolfson , author of The PowerBook Companion, passes on this helpful PowerBook hint. Apple tells you to shut down the PowerBook 100 before attaching the external floppy drive
The internal AppleCD 300 may not have a headphone jack or volume control, but it's not entirely featureless. If you unplug the microphone you can record 10 seconds of sound from an audio CD in the Sound Control panel
I don't know if there is a Pulitzer Prize in computer journalism, but if there were I'd nominate Ric Ford of MacWEEK for this year. Fighting with problems on his Macs, Ric tracked down a subtle and confusing bug that has lurked for years within HFS, the Hierarchical Filing System
I was saddened to read of the Quadra 700's demise. Once again, Apple has cancelled a model which, despite clear advantages, doesn't fit into their price and product line structure
System 7 has been out for several years now, and although some people have yet to switch to it (mostly for incorrect reasons or because it's too much trouble), System 7 is probably the most common System version in use