Mark H. Anbinder forwarded us this useful bit of information. Apparently you cannot set up either the Quadra 700 or 900 as a headless file server (i.e. Mac, but no monitor) due to a bug in System 7.0.1. Apple says that the "Macintosh Quadra computer will not operate properly unless a monitor is connected." I don’t know what they mean exactly by "not operate properly," but you probably won’t want to test this by replacing your main file server. If anyone knows what the problem is, do let us know for a future issue. The problem only affects the Quadras, and Apple is working on a control panel that will allow you to set up a headless file server. That extension should be available sometime toward the end of the year. Stay tuned.

Virtus, the people who do the Virtus WalkThrough 3-D drawing software have come up with the best general use for QuickTime that I’ve heard so far. This doesn’t imply that the people at Virtus are geniuses so much as it does that almost no one is sharing their QuickTime plans. Version 1.1 of Virtus WalkThrough will export walk paths to the QuickTime Movie format. You can create a fancy 3-D picture and make a path through it to display the various cool details that you put in. By exporting that path to the Movie format, any mainstream application that supports QuickTime will be able to display these movies. In a textual description of a floor plan, you could include movies showing how people will walk around pieces of furniture to show that there is enough space. One thing I like a lot about this use QuickTime is that it decreases the amount of printed reports and presentations, since there is no way to print a movie.

Many people who buy the StyleWriter or DeskWriter after having used a PostScript printer and Apple’s LaserWriter driver are disappointed that they have fewer options in the Print… dialog box. GDT Softworks, the wizards of third party printing, have come up with BetterWriters, a driver for QuickDraw printers that helps with this problem. BetterWriters supports the Apple ImageWriter I, II, LQ, and StyleWriter, as well as the popular HP DeskWriter. Some of BetterWriters’s features include reduction and enlargement from 10% to 400% in 1% increments, larger print area on the DeskWriter, custom paper sizes from one to 100 inches, even/odd printing, front-to-back and back-to-front printing, page flipping and inversion, and cover pages. GDT also claims that BetterWriters will have smoother graphics because it does greyscale pattern matching. Another enhancement includes custom screen fonts to speed up printing. BetterWriters works with the Comm Toolbox in System 6.0.2 or later, and is supposedly System 7-savvy, although GDT doesn’t elaborate on that claim. GDT’s main difficulty will be persuading people to shell out $69 for a a printer driver when a functional one comes with the printer for free. The main disadvantage I see for the current program is that it doesn’t include spooling capabilities. BetterWriters should work fine with SuperLaserSpool, but if you can hold on for a bit, GDT’s Steven Gully assured me that the next version of BetterWriters will have spooling built in. Steven also said they’re mulling over the possibility of adding AppleTalk support for the AppleTalk ImageWriter and the DeskWriter when attached through AppleTalk rather than a serial cable.

Virtus — 919/467-9700
GDT Softworks — 604/291-9121 — 800/663-6222

Information from:
Mark H. Anbinder, Contributing Editor
Virtus propaganda
Steven Gully, GDT Softworks — [email protected]
GDT Softworks propaganda

With Finder 7, Apple changed a number of interface elements to make it easier to use, or at least that’s their story. For instance, I’m sure you’ve noticed the rename delay that prevents you from accidently renaming items on your desktop. It also allows you to launch a file by double clicking on the name, which didn’t work before because the Mac assumed you wanted to edit the name instead. In the process, Apple changed the internal workings of the Finder, a decision which makes it more difficult for people to add command keys with ResEdit. Finally, the Finder can now map one file type to another, which is why the Finder now offers to open TEXT and PICT files with TeachText even if TeachText didn’t create the file. An enterprising young hacker named Adam Stein has released a trio of shareware products that allow you to modify the rename delay (or even shut it off), add command keys to the Finder’s File, Edit, and Special menus, and add more program links akin to those built in for TeachText. None of these programs does anything that you can’t do with ResEdit and the proper knowledge, but they do make it quite a bit easier. Each utility is $14.95 shareware, but the entire System 7 Pack is $29.95. The programs are a tad rough when it comes to the interface, but are easily figured out and do work as advertised. If you do want to customize your Finder but don’t want to mess with ResEdit, it’s worth looking for these programs at your local shareware site. Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole thing is that Adam Stein is a high school student hoping to help finance his college education in entrepreneurial management with the money he receives from registered users. Hmm, perhaps it should be called collegeware… 🙂

Murph Sewall recently complained about problems dropping files onto certain aliases on his new Quadra 700 running 7.0.1. It seems that if the file to be dropped didn’t have the correct creator for the program alias being dropped on, it simply wouldn’t work. At first, Murph thought the problem was related to 7.0.1, but quickly figured out the true cause. He was using AliasMaker to create those aliases, and apparently creating the aliases in that way doesn’t work completely. Creating the aliases using the Make Alias command from the Finder allowed the drag & drop procedure to work again. This problem is not inherently related to System 7.0.1 because I ran into the same problem with the shareware TrashMan under System 7 when I created the alias using AliasThis, another alias-creating utility. I tested this with both TrashMan and Downline, and it seems that aliases created with AliasThis on my system don’t work for drag & drop. However, sometimes you have to rebuild the desktop to get drag & drop to work, and Dan Walkowski, TrashMan’s author, said he had seen an instance where a TrashMan alias didn’t work until Norton Disk Doctor fixed the disk. So there are definitely several forces at work here, but the safe fix is to create drag & droppable aliases from the Finder.

Some time ago I purchased Full Impact 2.0 because of a special deal at Macworld. That version has some problems under System 7, most notably that the bottom half of the File menu disappears. Since I use Full Impact infrequently (I’m a word person… but not a Word person :-)), this doesn’t particularly bother me. I just use MacsBug to quit when I was done, since the Quit command was the main one I miss. Despite Ashton-Tate’s acquisition by Borland and the shaky future of the Full-products (Full Impact, FullWrite, FullPaint), John Thoo writes, "Okay, you can get the System 7-compatible upgrade of Full Impact, version 2.0.3s, by calling 800/227-4866. The upgrade costs about $10 if you purchased Full Impact 2.0 or earlier (worth every penny) and free if you purchased Full Impact 2.0s.

Ric Bretschneider adds,

In the meantime, you can fix the quitting bug by writing a macro with the "Quit" command in it. Save the macro as a Global macro so it can be used at the end of each session, and assign the Command-Q keystroke to it. This should fix the major problem until you get the update from A-T/Borland support. I’ve seen a 2.0.4s. It doesn’t make any technical changes, but just makes a cosmetic change to the hidden About box. To see the hidden about box in any >2.0 version:

CapsLock "Up"
Option-Choose "About…"
CapsLock "Down"
Shift-Command-Click A-T logo.

Don’t click or touch anything until all the animation stops or it will stop early and you’ll miss Godzilla.

Information from:
Adam Stein — AdamStein on AOL — [email protected]
Murph Sewall — [email protected]
John Thoo — [email protected]
Ric Bretschneider — [email protected]

Remember the hullabaloo concerning the extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields that monitors, televisions, and electrical appliances emit? Well Apple has released a statement of its policy on the issue. Essentially, Apple says that it doesn’t think these electromagnetic fields present any health risks, but at the same time it will meet or exceed safety regulations in countries in which it does business. I don’t want to risk introducing confusion or error into what Apple said, so I’m printing it verbatim below. If you are personally concerned about this issue, do check out the list of Apple monitors that have magnetic-field emission levels below the Swedish MPR-2 guidelines at the end. I still don’t know what to make of the whole deal, not being scientifically or medically qualified to judge. However, my feeling is that the ancient Greek motto of "Everything in moderation" applies well here. Stay a reasonable distance from your monitor and try not to spend too much time bathing in the electromagnetic field if you aren’t actually using the machine at the time. Anyway, here is Apple’s position.

Apple Computer, as a major user and manufacturer of personal computers, is committed to making products safe. That’s why we closely follow scientific developments that can guide our product design efforts and test our products against international safety standards. Our aim is to meet or exceed all safety regulations in every country where we do business.

Recently, questions about the possible health effects of prolonged exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) have been raised. The issue encompasses not only computer monitors, but also all other EMF sources such as electrical wiring, televisions, and household appliances.

Because Apple values highly our customers’ trust, we take seriously any question of product safety. We have reviewed the scientific reports and sought the counsel of government regulatory agencies and respected health organizations. Based on the prevailing evidence and opinions, Apple believes that the electric and magnetic fields produced by computer monitors do not pose a health risk. We are actively encouraging further research so that we can continue to ensure the health and safety of our customers and employees.

Although the body of scientific research has not defined a health problem or established safety limits, Apple offers a variety of lower-emission products for customers who want to reduce their exposure to EMF.

Apple has announced the Macintosh 21" Color Display and has recently begun shipping new versions of the Macintosh 12" RGB Display and the AppleColor High-Resolution RGB Monitor. These products join the Macintosh Classic and Macintosh 12" Monochrome Display in offering customers display products magnetic-field emission levels below the Swedish MPR-2 guidelines.

Apple products with magnetic-field emission levels below the Swedish MPR-2 guidelines are listed below:

     PRODUCT                                    PART NUMBER
     Macintosh Classic                          all configurations
     Macintosh Classic II                       all configurations
     Macintosh 12" Monochrome Display           M0298LL/A
     Macintosh 12" RGB Display                  M0297LL/C
     AppleColor Hi-Resolution RGB Monitor       M0401LL/B
     Macintosh 21" Color Display                M5812LL/A

More information – including information on the Swedish MPR-2 Guideline, Apple’s ongoing testing activities, and a list of other documents regarding display emissions that are posted to AppleLink – is included in a document entitled Apple Displays Have Lower Magnetic Emissions, posted on AppleLink -> Apple Sales & Mktg -> Apple Programs -> Health and Safety Information.

Information from:
Apple propaganda

I have been salivating over the idea of a 68040 Macintosh for nearly two years. I’ve saved my nickels and dimes and must have been good because "Christmas" arrived yesterday in the form of a Quadra 700 with 4 MB and a 160 MB hard drive! The local stores don’t even have demo models yet, so somebody up there must like me.

I have one immediate gripe (not with the Quadra, it is marvelous!). Apple’s HD SC Setup won’t let me create more than one Macintosh OS partition 🙁 I’d prefer two 80 (well 78.5) MB partitions. Not only do two partitions match up with 88 MB SyQuest cartridges (I’m not gonna back 160 MB up to floppies!), but I understand that smaller partitions yield better disk performance than one huge partition.

OK, so I do have the Alliance Power Tools that came with the SyQuest. That created two partitions, but now I can’t use virtual memory (it just disappears from the Memory Control Panel). Naturally, Apple’s HD SC Setup won’t update the driver for either partition. I plan to order 4 MB more RAM tomorrow morning and have it installed as quickly as I can schedule my dealer to do so, but gee whiz Apple – one 160 MB partition??? :-(( Am I glad I couldn’t afford the 400 MB drive!

OK, how about some good news! More software really works than reading the trade magazines would lead you to believe. You may have read about compatibility problems with the 68040 processor caches. Apple sends along a list of 100 applications known to be compatible with the Quadra’s caches. As is the case with the infamous Compatibility Checker for System 7 the list should be taken with some skepticism since many common programs simply aren’t mentioned, and more works than you might expect.

The System software ships with a control panel for turning the caches off and on. One immediate piece of software that turns out to be not compatible with the caches is the aforementioned Alliance Power Tools; so I tried turning the cache off almost immediately. After I got set up, I ran Speedometer with the cache on and off. With the caches on, the Quadra runs about twice as fast as a IIci; with the caches off the speed is about half as fast as a IIci (sort of either smoke a IIfx or have an expensive IIsi). Speedometer runs lots of tests and they indicate that a four to one speed difference is more or less across the board (the color video speed with the cache on has to be seen to be believed). Believe me, you do not need any software to indicate that the processor caches are off (even though the Quadra says so with every restart).

Alas, it is necessary to restart in order to change the processor caches setting. Naturally, the idea is to run with the caches on!! I’m rather pleased at the number of things (old and new) that work fine with the caches on. The only applications I’ve tried which aren’t 68040 processor caches compatible are:

Alliance Power Tools (version 2.0.7), TinCan (version 5.0) and ][ in a Mac (which won’t work with the caches off either). The Remember DA (2.2.0.1) also crashes when the caches are on (the INIT however works fine).

I haven’t had time to try everything yet, but Kermit 0.98(63), GIFConverter 2.2.9, Giffer 1.1.2, ImageCatalog 1.0b3, Image 1.41, Compact Pro 1.32, StuffIt Classic 1.6 (among the shareware things I’ve tried), and SPSS 4.0.2, Vantage 1.6, MacTools Deluxe 1.2, and Norton Utilities 1.1 of the commercial applications which aren’t listed do work. 🙂

More to the point is the surprisingly long list of extensions and cdev’s that also work. Only a few things that I’ve tried don’t.

Greg’s buttons (version 1.3) is in trouble again. The buttons don’t work even with the cache turned off. The Grouch (version 2.5B1) loads okay but crashes Finder when it tries to actually empty the trash whether or not the cache is on (the free standing application does run). SndControl (version 1.1.2b3), see below, does work, but the ‘restart’ sound causes a Finder Error 41 requiring a click on a ‘restart’ button to continue (I haven’t tried a shutdown sound yet).

The Disk Doubler (version 3.7) INIT crashes (segment loader error) on boot up if the processor caches are on, the INIT works with the caches off. The Disk Doubler application, however, works with the caches on.

The really interesting thing is the number and variety of extensions and control panels that do work with processor caches on. All of the following extensions work fine on the Quadra, which also means they are System 7.0.1 compatible, just in case you were curious.

 (From Norton's Disk Doctor)
 The active Control Panels on this disk are:
     After Dark   (version 2.0v)
     ApplicationMenu   (Desk Accessories)
     AutoMenus   (version 5.01)
     Cache Switch   (version 7.0.1)
     ClockAdjust
     Color   (version 7.0)
     CursorAnimator 1.2   (version 1.2)
     DepthCharge
     Escapade   (version 1.3.2)
     File Sharing Monitor   (version 7.0)
     Finder Commands 1.0.1   (version 1.0.1)
     General Controls   (version 7.0)
     Helium 2.0   (version 2.0)
     Keyboard   (version 7.0)
     Kolor
     Labels   (version 7.0)
     MacLights   (version 1.0a1)
     Magic Menu   (version 2.0.2 b9)
     Map   (version 7.0)
     MemINIT 2.0   (version 2.0)
     Memory   (version 7.0.1)
     Mirror   (version 1.2)
     Monitors   (version 7.0)
     MountImage   (version 1.2'1)
     Mouse   (version 7.0)
     Power Tools Assistant 1.0   (version 1.0)
     Scroll2 v2.1   (version Scroll2 v 2.1b5)
     SCSIProbe 3.2   (version 3.2)
     Sharing Setup   (version 7.0)
     Shortcut   (version 1.5)
     SndControl   (version 1.1.2b3)
     Sound   (version 7.0)
     Startup Disk   (version 7.0)
     SuperClock!  (version 3.9.1)
     TrashAlias   (version 1.1)
     Turbo Mouse   (version 1.0)
     Users & Groups   (version 7.0)
     Views   (version 7.0)
     ZoomBar   (version 2.0)
     ~AccessPC   (version 1.1)
     Extensions Manager   (version 1.6)


 The active System Extensions on this disk are:
     !DeskPict 1.1
     Apollo   (version 0.5b1)
     BigFoot
     Caps Lock   (version 7.0.1)
     CommentKeeper   (version 1.0)
     CPS TagFix
     Eyeballs
     MICN   (version 1.0)
     NoBalloonMenu
     PwrSwitcher 1.0a2   (version 1.0a2)
     Randomizer   (version 1.1.2b13)
     Real DRAG
     Remember? Extension   (version 2.2.0.1)
     SaratogaKey
     SparedDisk   (version 1.0b1)
     EM Extension   (version 1.6)


 The active Control Panels and Extensions in your System Folder:
     Sigma Compression INIT   (version 1.0)
     Suitcase II   (version 1.2.11)
     Disinfectant INIT   (version 2.5.1)

Information from:
Murph Sewall — [email protected]