Welcome to the number-one rated Apple Wizards medical drama of the year, Medicine Man. I am your virtual on-call Macdoctor.
To ask a question (sorry, no house calls), just pop by the Apple Wizards website at http://applewizards.net/ and click on any of the links for the "Special Area" — you should see "Medicine Man" as a choice. Drop us a line with your question. The website is open 24 hours a day, 8 days a week.
 
Deafness #1
I don't get a dialing sound from my internal Apple/GV 56k modem! It only produces sound when I have a CD in Apple CD Audio. Can you help?
- Scott Skiff
Treatment #1 
Actually, Scott, this is a problem that recently plagued my own
brother. It is very simple to fix, however. Go into your "Monitors and Sound" control panel. Click on the "Sound" icon (the one with the speaker). You should see a panel called "Sound Monitoring Source." Choose "Sound In" from that panel.
There is a much quicker way to do this if you have the Control Strip installed. Just use the "Sound In" control strip to select "Sound In." This control strip module is generally installed with the Mac OS, so maybe you'll find it when you upgrade to Mac OS 8.5 (you are going to upgrade, right?).
 
Detriment #2
Working with OS 8.1 and with Communicard 56K… what is the best fax software? Faxcilitate does not work on my system.
- Marc Mainil
 
Antibiotic #2
The best fax software available to Macintosh users is,
arguably, GlobalFax from Global Village. However, this
software only works with Global Village's own modems.
For non-Global Village modems, I would recommend
FaxSTF Pro or Home edition (depending on your price
range) from STF Technologies, http://www.stfinc.com/ .
These two pieces of software include great interfaces,
incorporation of Macintosh technologies, and fax forwarding. The pro edition also offers a full fax and telephone center.
 
Sprain #3
How would I connect an old HP printer (say a 560 Deskjet) to my Mac?
- Will Duderstadt
Brace #3 
Well Will, this type of printer can
be hooked up to most Macs via the
printer serial port on the back of your
computer. You need two things:
1. A Din-8 cable, which will connect the printer to the computer.
2. A Mac driver. You need to make sure that there is a driver available for this particular printer for the Macintosh. Check http://www.hp.com/cposupport/jsnav/prhome.html to see if a driver is available (for any HP printer).
 
Nose Bleed #4
I want to know if is a way that I can use my computer as a telephone (not trough the Internet) using a standard telephone, microphone, and modem. Could you please send me a list if posible with all the elements I need to be able to use my Mac as a phone.
- Diego
Tilt Your Head Down #4
To use your Mac as a speakerphone (this use is referred to as "telephony"), you need a few items. First, you need an external speakerphone modem. A modem that is not speakerphone-enabled will not allow you to use your Mac as a telephone. Some Macs come with such a modem pre-installed.
Next, you need software. MegaPhone from Bing Software at http://www.bingsoftware.com/ is probably the best option. It's easy to use, and that's important in a world of complex telephony software. However, it only works with internal Apple modems and Geoport (blech) adapters. If you have another type of speakerphone modem, MacComCenter from Smith Micro at http://www.smithmicro.com/products/macplus.htm is a fine choice.
 
Paper Cut #5
How effective are Human Growth Hormones administered through oral spray?
-Jolang
Band-Aid #5
I hate to tell you this, um, but, the Medicine Man title is just a cute name.
