Subject: Info-Mac Digest V16 #358 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="Info-Mac-Digest" --Info-Mac-Digest Info-Mac Digest Wed, 27 Oct 99 Volume 16 : Issue 358 Today's Topics: (A) Stuffit Deluxe & MacOS 9 (C) new iMacs [Q] Info-Mac Sherlock Plug-in? Application Launch Ambiguity (Summary) DRAGONS LURKING IN OS 9 CONVERSION How about the file submissions to Info-Mac?? Mac to NT net work reference MathType vs. Adobe Type Reunion Old 21" monitor OS9 Applescript change Outlook Express 5 - Notification sounds Q: resetting the power manager Report on PNG usage in Web Site Design sending a webpage or URL Video Card Wingz problem The Info-Mac Network is a volunteer organization that publishes the Info-Mac Digest and operates the Info-Mac Archive, a large network of FTP sites containing gigabytes of freely distributable Macintosh software. Working with the Info-Mac Digest: * To submit articles to the digest, email . * To subscribe, send email to with subscribe in the Subject line. * To unsubscribe, send email to with unsubscribe in the Subject line. * To change your address, unsubscribe from the old address, then subscribe from the new address. If that fails, try using the list maintenance form at before contacting us. * Please send administrative queries to . Downloading and Submitting Files from the Info-Mac Archive: * A full list of Info-Mac mirror sites is available at: * Search the archive via the MIT HyperArchive at: . * To submit files for the archive, email the binhexed file with a description to . Submissions must be made by the author or with permission of the author. It may take up to a week to process; check mirror sites for the status of new uploads. * To submit files larger than 2 MB, email a description to and then use an FTP client to upload the binhexed file to info-mac.org, using the userid "macgifts" and the password "macgifts". Or, click . Info-Mac volunteers include Adam C. Engst, Demitri Muna, Hugh Lewis, Tom Coradeschi, Shawn Bunn, Christopher Li, Patrik Montgomery, and Ed Chambers. The Info-Mac Digest is sponsored in part by StarNine Technologies, developers of Internet server software for the Macintosh, including Web and email publishing systems. We'd also like to thank AOL for the main Info-Mac machine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Info-Mac Digest V16 #358" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 08:16:07 -0400 From: a brody Subject: (A) Stuffit Deluxe & MacOS 9 Dear Digest readers, I am sure some of you might be pondering what's the deal with Stuffit, but presently only Stuffit Expander 5.1.4 (which ships with MacOS 9), and DropStuff, and Magic menu (when stuffit browser is turned off) are compatible with MacOS 9. The Stuffit Deluxe 5.1.2 application does not work, and Aladdin is busily at work trying to recompile it for MacOS 9. Also FinderPop's treat Stuffit archives as folders option doesn't work with MacOS 9, and should be turned off to prevent the Finder accidently quitting upon selecting a Stuffit archive when FinderPop is on. The good news is that Adobe Type Manager, Adobe Type Reunion, and Virex have been made MacOS 9 compatible. I am still waiting for Norton Anti-Virus to become MacOS 9 compatible. If there are any other MacOS 9 compatibility issues, please feel free to post them, so as to alert others who might have the same software. Sincerely, abrody@smart.net Check out over 700 internet sites updated monthly at: http://www.index-site.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 13:19:42 -0400 From: "Baker, Robert" Subject: (C) new iMacs I just visited CompUSA and they said that their "6 months same as cash on all Macs purchased with its credit card" plan has been discontinued. Thanks, Rob Baker rbaker@rwd.com -----Original Message----- From: a brody [mailto:abrody@smart.net] Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 1999 8:51 AM Subject: (C) new iMacs Dear Digest readers, Apple's finally listened in many respects. The new iMacs have DVD, video mirroring to SVGA monitors and TV screens, a better reset switch (instead of reset hole), not to mention Firewire and hard drives starting at 10 GB and Airport. And the DVD drive is not a cupholder type drive, but rather a thin slot in front that you just push the DVD into. And in spite of some complaints to the contrary, the new DVD player does allow fullscreen viewing if use the menus of the DVD player application. All starting at $1200 or 12 months same as cash at $100 a month at Sears, or $1500 and 12 months same as cash at $125 a month for a model with more hard disk space and more RAM. The same as cash offer applies to anyone who has the credit to get a Sears credit card. The $1500 model probably is only worth it if you can't live with 10 GB of hard disk space, and you don't think that you can get an addition 64MB of RAM for less than the cost difference between the two. CompUSA has a similar offer at 6 months same as cash on all Macs purchased with its credit card. In spite of the whole G4 fiasco of both the firmware, and the difficulty in getting chips out, Apple has managed to have better than 50% market share in Japan, and be the top selling computer maker in Japan as well. Let's here it for a job well done. Sincerely, abrody@smart.net Check out over 700 internet sites updated monthly at: http://www.index-site.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 11:57:00 -0400 From: Allan Hunter Subject: [Q] Info-Mac Sherlock Plug-in? I decided to finally get around to tracking down and installing some useful Sherlock plug-ins, among which was the Info-Mac Digest plug-in. I have been unable to find it. I'm assuming I didn't have an inventive little cerebrovascular accident that is causing me to think there is such an "it" when in actuality no Info-Mac Digest plug-in exists? With or without the existence of an Info-Mac Sherlock Plug-in, I wish the search engines in use at my favorite mirror site (hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu) worked the way the AltaVista advanced search does, with the ability to search for a complete phrase (not any damn word in the phrase) and the ability to do boolean searches. Allan Hunter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 14:19:43 -0700 From: Herb Kroemer Subject: Application Launch Ambiguity (Summary) Many thanks to all those who replied to my question (in Digest #353): "What controls which application is launched when I double-click a document with such multiple parents, if neither of the parents is already open?" In the end I found Mark Nagata's report (Digest #354) on the Finder Search Path most useful, and I simply placed the competing applications into two different volumes of my (partitioned) hard disk, with the "primary" application being on that volume that is searched first, the "secondary" one on the other volume (I am a big believer in partitioning large hard disks, and had two volumes for applications already). Neither of the two applications volumes is the startup volume, nor are documents themselves on either volume. In this way, double-clicking a document naturally launches the primary application. Re-building all relevant Desktops after shuffling the applications around may be necessary to make this work -- and is a good idea in any case. Several people offered advice about various alternative ways to launch the desired application (other than double-clicking). But this wasn't my question: I wanted to make 2-clicking work right for me, not avoid it. In fact, I had been using some of these alternatives -- and wanted to stop having to do so. Some alternative is however necessary if one wants the secondary application to launch. Dropping the document on a suitable alias on the Desktop is the most obvious way; I prefer the "OpenUsing" Contextual Menu Plugin; there are other ways. Regards, Herb Kroemer ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 06:39:47 -0700 From: "Michael P. Cole" Subject: DRAGONS LURKING IN OS 9 CONVERSION I hope that your forthcoming comments on OS 9 will cover a wide range of incompatabilities---and they appear to be numerous. I installed OS 9 (clean install) two days ago. Problem ONE: Crash on startup. The culprit was Norton Utilities File Saver Extension. I couldn't boot up because the system kept jamming. Finally, I figured out that if I started up from the OS 9 CD, I could sneak into my hard drive and drag out Norton Utilities (Anti-virus may or may not be working). Once I removed it, I could start. And I just paid quite a bit for the Norton Utilities upgrade. Unfortunately, I can't use either Disk Doctor or Speed Disk (to optimize) from the CD because I get a message that says that the program is incompatible with OS 9. Wonderful. Problem TWO: Netscape Communicator 4.6.1. My Netscape files have left home. I know that they are hiding somewhere in my hard drive, but at the moment my address book (big), bookmarks (even bigger file), and stored messages have disappeared. I never really learned how to back these files up, so until I can figure how to get those files back, I'll have to restore the first two items one by one. I don't know why the OS 9 upgrade should affect Netscape, but it most certainly did. And to add insult to injury, I found Internet Explorer and Outlook Express featured throughout the OS 9 upgrade software. It took me a bit of time to ditch it but it kept cropping up all over the place in the set-up steps, and later. Problem THREE: Adobe ATM and ATR. At least the OS 9 info contained a warning about Adobe Type Manager and Adobe Type Reunion, so I removed them before I installed OS 9. However, I just paid quite a bit for the latest version of ATM/ATR (no free upgrade there). The OS 9 info gave a URL for Adobe's planned remedy to this problem. However, what good will that do if I've removed the applications from my system. They'll probably make me pay for a CD again. I haven't had a chance to try applications other than Microsoft Word (which seems, repeat seems, to be all right) but I am apprehensive. So, PLEASE investigate the effect that OS 9 will have on various programs. Meanwhile, I am going to give Netscape and Symantec hell. Thought this information might interest you since OS 9 was just mailed to customers who ordered it a month ago. -- Michael P. Cole 1500 Seventh Street, Apt. 6-M Sacramento, CA 95814-5436 email: mpcole@tomatoweb.com (916) 444-3195 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 13:55:10 +0200 From: Jochen Haeberle Subject: How about the file submissions to Info-Mac?? Hi, there have been no File descriptions in this digest for a long, long time. Is this just because the moderators can not catch up or is this dicontinued or has it changed and I missed it? I would be very grateful for any insight on this Jochen ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 16:25:26 -0400 From: Phil McIntosh Subject: Mac to NT net work reference Can anyone recommend a good source for detailed information on connecting a Mac to an NT network? TIA Phil McIntosh remove the x to reply ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 14:28:30 -0700 From: Herb Kroemer Subject: MathType vs. Adobe Type Reunion People wishing to run both MathType and the new version 2.5.1 of Adobe Type Reunion Deluxe under System 8.5.1 or 8.6 should add MT to the (In-) Compatibility list of ATR Deluxe. Otherwise, MT might "unexpectedly" quit. Worse, it may be impossible to re-launch it without re-starting the computer. Herb Kroemer ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 10:22:45 -0500 From: Chaz Larson Subject: Old 21" monitor At 4:27 PM -0400 10/25/99, TOM FORD - DUPONT CRD/MS&E wrote: >Hi- > >I "inherited" a 21" inch Apple Color Monitor (vintage 1992). > >My (original) Powerbook G3 can't recognize it. I have a RasterOps 21" monitor of similar vintage, which supports only 1152x870 @ 75Hz. It uses one of those 3-BNC video cables, and expects sync-on-green, which current macs don't supply. I use a Griffin MacSync adapter and it works fine with my PowerCenter. Maybe this is the solution to your problem as well. chazl "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I break your concentration?" - Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction Chaz Larson - chaz at spamcop dot net - http://www.visi.com/~chaz ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 13:03:51 -0400 From: Simon Kidd Subject: OS9 Applescript change >Under OS8.6, I had an applescript in the startup items folder that would >line up my disk partition icons in a row at the bottom of the screen, out >of the way, i.e.: > > tell application "Finder" > activate > select startup disk > set position of selection to {84, 565} >end tell). > >With the new OS9 applescript, I get an error message that says this is the >wrong command to use with this type of window. This occurs even if I set >the new applescript to record, and move them manually, then run the script. >I cannot find anything in the Help files to solve this - so...help?! > >ron nye This was discussed on several Applescript lists/newsgroups and the cure if I remember correctly is it seems to turn off snap to grid. Simon ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 09:13:17 +0900 From: "Allan Sutherland" Subject: Outlook Express 5 - Notification sounds Having recently downloaded Outlook Express 5, while there are many things that are useful about it, there is one thing that gets on my nerves; the lack of interface to select the notification sounds. Can anyone suggest how these might be modified: is it necessary to use resedit, if so, what is the procedure. Thanks, Allan. -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 01:06:44 +0100 From: "SimonSays" Subject: Q: resetting the power manager > Subject: 1400, 8.5/8.6 & G3 battery > > I to have the problem with the battery showing 1/2 to 3/4's charged when the > powerbook says it WILL sleep now due to lack of power. holding the reset > button in the back and resetting the power manager usually solves the problem > until the next glitch. Either the power manager setting are fragile, or the > chip or driver upsets them too easily. Either way I sent an email to > NewerTech with the problem. I will post any replies. The more queeries they > get the more inclined they may be to resolve this. Hmm... so, can anyone tell me how I reset the power manager on a 1400cs running 8.5.1?! TIA Simon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 22:44:48 -0700 From: "Dr. James K. Butler" Subject: Report on PNG usage in Web Site Design I recently took a survey and did a study on PGN usage by web site designers. This is "OT," but I thought some of the list members might find my report interesting. I took a survey of members from the HWG (HTML Writers Guild), GoLive discussion lists and Digital Artist discussion lists. Here are my findings. "Dr. James K. Butler" wrote: > First I would like to thank everyone who took the time to reply to my > questions. Now on to the results. > > Introduction: > As expected, the answer to whether anyone is using PNGs for web design > was a unanimous...NO! > > I had thirty-six people reply and almost all of them stated that they DO > NOT use PNGs in web site design. (There are some usage's of PNGs, but I > will discuss them later.) In addition, most people stated that they had > no plans to start using them anytime soon. There were many reasons given > for why web designers are not using them. > > The main reason is due to the belief (whether accurate or not), that > there are still too few web surfers who are using PNG capable browsers. > As web designers, we generally agree that there are three main goals in > designing and using graphics in designing sites: > > 1. Fastest load time with the best appearance quality possible. > 2. Viewable without surfers needing to install any type of plug-in. > 3. Consistent appearance across all platforms and browser versions. > > PNG Facts: (brief overview) > PNGs behave like a hybrid of GIF and JPEG files. They allow transparency > like GIFs; "lossless" compression like GIFs and millions of color like > JPEG. PNGs are closer to GIFs rather than JPEGs so they are more likely > to be used in place of GIFs. So I will compare PNGs with GIFs. > > PNGs vs. GIFs: > - PNGs are superior to GIF files due to their ability to display > millions of colors rather than GIFs limited 256. It also allows variable > transparency using alpha channels. PNGs also offer Gamma Correction > which allow you to control image brightness across all platforms. > > - GIFs are better because they support multiple frames (i.e. animated > GIFs) and the files tend to be smaller than PNGs. (This is expected due > to the larger amount of data that PNGs retain.) > > PNG supported Browsers: > PNGs have been supported in the big three browsers (Netscape, IE and > AOL) since version 4.x. Unfortunately, a huge number of people are still > using older browsers. Many people replied to me with statistics showing > that approximately 20-30% of web surfers are still using non-PNG > "friendly" browsers. It was also expressed to me that, until this number > lowers to around 5-10% they will not start to use PNGs. > > In my introduction I alluded to the fact that some people may be basing > their reluctance to use PNGs on erroneous statistics. This is because > there is at least ONE very common plug-in which adds PNG functionality > to web browsers. Apple's QuickTime 4 plug-in supports PNG. (Version 3 > may have supported it too.) Quicktime, although not installed in every > browser is in a large percentage of them, so the 20-30% of surfers who > are currently still using a v2.x or v3.x browser could have PNG ability > through QuickTime. This is something that should be thought about when > looking at this purely from a statistical view. > > What can we do: > We are in a catch-22. On one hand, we need to find a way to encourage > migration to PNG supported browsers by using PNGs, but we also want to > present our sites so that everyone can see them. On the other hand, > without a "need" to, surfers have no incentive to upgrade. As web > designers we only have control of the first of these two. We need to > consider taking a proactive stand here and make some decisions that may > not be popular in the short run, but could be beneficial to > everyone--web designers, our clients and web surfers--in the long run. > > [Apple computer has done this three times: First they went to the > smaller floppy then they moved to USB (and FireWire) and most recently > they completely removed the floppy drive from their computers > completely. Each time they received criticism, but in the end they were > praised from taking such a bold move.] > > There are things that we can do while keeping problems to a minimum. One > of the best options would be to use javascript to determine to the > surfers browser capabilities and then write alternate code for > displaying either a GIF or PNG image. There was a recent article by Paul > Anderson about how to do this on C|Net's Builder.com. > (http://www.builder.com/Authoring/Tagmania/101199/) > > Other Usage's for PNGs: > As I mentioned above, people are using PNG files. The four main uses > that I came across was as a storage format, for off-line uses, on > Intranets and embedded in Flash files. > > PNGs for storage: > Most of the major graphic design applications support PNG as a save > option. The benefits of keeping the original in PNG format is that you > don't have degeneration like you do when you resave JPEG files. In > addition, due to so many applications supporting it, it is a very handy > format for moving files between applications. > > Off-line Usage: > One person who replied mentioned that he used the PNG format for saving > graphic design artwork he made for CD. > > Intranets: > PNGs can also be used in Intranet situations where the browser CAN be > dictated (e.g. company MIS). > > Flash: > One of the best uses for PNG, at this time, is as embedded objects in > Flash files. Flash has supported PNG files since version 3. Once > embedded into a Flash (.swf) file, browsers equipped with the Flash > plug-in can view the PNG as a part of the Flash file. > > Future of PNG: > There appears to be two new graphic formats on the horizon which will > either expedite the move to using browsers that support PNGs or which > will make PNGs obsolete before their time. > > These two new formats are MNG (animated PNG files) > (http://www.cdrom.com/pub/mng/) and JPEG 2000 > (http://www.jpeg.org/public/jpeglinks.htm). > > Conclusion: > I started this poll because I have read and heard about PNGs for a > while, but I had not come across many in use. I wanted to see how > prevalent their usage was before I started to use them myself. (Yes, it > is true, I have not used them yet either!) I learned how reluctant > people are to use them due to either a lack of understanding/knowledge > (of the PNG format) or for concern of "end users" not being able to view > them. I came across a lot of information that I wanted to share with you > about PNGs. Here are some links: > > The PNG Home Site: > http://www.cdrom.com/pub/png/ > > An Example: (Thanks to: Mark Christol) > http://home.fuse.net/christol/Ugrrl.html > > A Book for further research: > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565925424/o/qid=939828609/sr=8-1/00 > > Definition of PNG: > http://whatis.com/png.htm > > PNG supported Image Editors: > http://www.cdrom.com/pub/png/pngaped.html > > PNG supported Browsers: > http://www.cdrom.com/pub/png/pngapbr.html > > Latest breaking PNG news: > http://www.cdrom.com/pub/png/pngnews.html > > Final Thought: > I hope some of this information is helpful to others. I know I have > learned quite a bit from my research. Thanks again for everyone who > helped with my survey. > > -- > Dr. Jim Butler, CEO & President > Scuba Web Design > > -Web Site Design > -Graphic Design > -3D Design & Animation > -Video Production & Effects > -Macintosh Consulting > > < mailto:jbutler3@san.rr.com > -- Dr. Jim Butler, CEO & President Scuba Web Design -Web Site Design -Graphic Design -3D Design & Animation -Video Production & Effects -Macintosh Consulting < mailto:jbutler3@san.rr.com > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 13:09:53 -0400 From: "Gino Landini" Subject: sending a webpage or URL I have brainfreeze and can't find a way to send a page or URL in Internet Explorer or Outlook Express. In Netscape you simply click on the page or choose the correct command under an attachment. I can't find either type of process with the Microsoft programs but my PC friends tell me their versions do all the above. Help please and thank you in advance. By the way I'm using the latest Mac versions of all programs. Gino Landini ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 17:39:16 -0500 From: "Mike Stulting" Subject: Video Card I recently found this for my sister who is VERY cost conscious - http://www.ixmicro.com/products/ixtv.html http://www.macmall.com has it for $62.99 It might max out at 320x240 at 30fps. But everything I have read says that that is S-Video quality and sampling S-Video at more than 320x240 is a waste hard drive space (not to mention editing will take 4 times longer). I assume that DV through FireWire would be higher. Also, the cheap IED drives that are going into G4 Macs are plenty fast for sampling 320x240 @ 30fps uncompressed. Of course, faster is always better for the editing part. However you go, have fun. > I have a blue and white G3, 450mhz, 256 RAM, OS 8.6. I am looking for a > quality PCI card to input video/audio from VCR's, TV's, camcorders, etc. > (preferably through s-video) I would like to run 640x480 at 20 fps or > greater. I am already lookig for a SCSI or firewire drive for data > transfer to keep data rates sustained at 12+MB/sec. I used to own a FOCUS > box (run on a 6500/250 PPC-64 MB RAM), but that doesn't have the quality > that today's newer/faster computers are capable, nor did it run at full > screen. Any suggestions?? Anyone had any luck witht the Iomega Buz > Multimedia Producer?? > > Also, does anyone know how well the ORB drives would perform for heavy data > transfer, ie playing large multimedia videos. ORB is expandable, firewire > is faster. I need some advice. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 18:24:05 -0500 From: Graeme Forbes Subject: Wingz problem I'm finding that Wingz 1.1 repeatedly crashes (error type 1) on launch under System 8.6, even with all extensions off. It worked fine on OS's before 8.5 (not sure about 8.5 itself). Anyone got any suggestions, other than to buy the newest version? email to forbes@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu would be appreciated. Thanks, Graeme Forbes -------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest-- End of Info-Mac Digest ******************************