With a little bit of luck, the snow should begin melting! I’m so excited when spring arrives… the tulips begin blooming and the Northeast begins to come alive.
But, I’m jumping the gun a bit. In real world time I just returned from an annual company meeting. Why am I mentioning it? Well, I had my first chance to use System 8!
I thoroughly enjoyed it. During the set up of the system there were the usual crashes (bear in mind we’re doing this in the midst of stage creation, rehearsals, lights in the process of being rigged—a major production in the making, in other words). However, I did not lose a single file. Not one change to my presentations were corrupted. These were the smoothest crashes I ever had!
To top it off, the crashes were due to power problems with the hotel, not anything with the computer. In my experience, power failures are horrors to deal with in terms of computers. However, this was probably one of the most non-stressful events I ever participated in, and it’s mostly due to the stability of the operating system I was using.
I didn’t get a chance to use all the bells and whistles, but I look forward to the day I can use System 8.
Helpful Hints
HH#39: Copying fonts—Let’s say you are working on a flyer for the PTA committee that will be printed. To ensure that what the printer prints looks like what you created, you need to include the fonts. Copying fonts is simple. In System 8, simply highlight and drag the fonts to the disk you are sending to the printer.
In System 7, you have a couple of options. The first option is to quit all your applications, highlight the font and drag to the disk. For some folks, this is too time consuming. Alternatively, you can hold down the option key while dragging your fonts to their destination.
Remember: Stay away from TrueType fonts when dealing with printers. The devices they use for printing usually cannot handle anything other than PostScript fonts. How can you tell the difference? Truetype fonts have three As on them, Postscript have one.
HH#40: If backing up is too much for you—keep this number handy: (800) 440–1904. That is the number of DriveSavers. They specialize in recovering data from dead computers. They are based on Novato, California and also have a Website: http://www.drivesavers.com.
HH#41: Tuning up—We’ve spoken of the need to rebuild your desktop. There are a couple of other things you can do to keep your Mac running smoothly.
Run both the Disk First Aid that came with your Mac and Norton Utilities’ Disk Doctor. While Norton is much better, sometimes Disk First Aid finds things that Norton may not see.
Optimize your hard drive. Again, Norton Utilities comes to the rescue. Use Speed Disk, which is included in the package. (There’re other programs out there that are just as good, however, Norton Utilities is my program of choice.)
Internet Site of the Month:
Tech Support Library: http://www.macfixit.com.
A nice comprehensive site. Remember, if you need the answer in a hurry, you might be better off paying a tech. However, if you have a question that has been bothering you for awhile, have time to research a problem, or are unable to find your answer elsewhere, this is the place for you.
Last, and certainly not least, if you have a particular subject or area that’s giving you trouble, or have a solution to a problem and you want to tell the world, please email me. I’ll answer you both personally and post it in the column. I promise I won’t use your name if you don’t want me to!
