I for one love your magazine. Especially because of your wonderful CD. Don't get me wrong, I have been buying MacFormat since issue 4 (and the pile is getting quite high and unruly, nudge nudge) because of the actual content of the mag rather than the cover disk but I must admit the CD is a wonderful bonus, PLEASE keep it up.
Sycophantic nonsense over, to business.
First.
Could anyone out there in Appleland, MacFormatland, England, Nederland or I-use-an-Apple- and-I-like-to-help-land tell me what the HELL I/O error -2004 is? I know it is something to do with sound but I haven't been able to find it in any of the 'Inside Macintosh' series (maybe I haven't looked hard enough) but my Mac keeps throwing it at me.
This happens especially when I am using ResEdit (even if I give it all the memory possible) to listen to what sounds are in a file, but it also happens when I use some sound editing software. I have an LCII with 4Mb ram, System 7.1, 80Mb HDD, it makes no difference whether I have 32 bit Addressing or Virtual Memory on or off, or if I start with no extensions it happens in all cases. Usually the only way to overcome it is to restart but even that doesn't always help. It happens if I am using Sound Manager 3 or if I am not. It does funny things to my Sound Control Panel (v 8.0.1), specifically causing the Pop Up Menu with 'Alert Sounds', 'Sound In', 'Sound Out', and 'Volumes' to have more than one of each item in it. It also prevents the volume slider from sticking at anything other than 0, it keeps falling down.
Yes, I've rebuilt the desktop, even using 'Tech Tool' which deletes the old one rather than just updating it. I've zapped the PRAM (Parameter RAM), again, using 'Tech Tool' which zaps the parts normal methods fail to reach. I've even gone as far as doing a clean re-install of the System Software in its entirety. I'm going slightly mad (quote, unquote).
So, armed with that info, answers on a postcard or stuck down envelope (floppy, CD-ROM, Syquest, MO etc.) to the address at the top. Seriously, I would appreciate any and all information on this, as witty as you like (I need cheering up) or as technical as you like (I really want to know what is going on here).
Having said all that I will be giving myself a nice upgrade to 10Mb of RAM and System 7.5 for Christmas so my worries should be over, still…
(Sidetrack. I really like the fact that you include electronic magazines on your CD (yes, even the likes of SuperClamp, well everyone needs a good laugh every now and then, don't they?). I like to keep as up to date as possible on all things Mac and as I don't have a modem, yet, these are a great source of information. Particularly BBG as I am interested in graphics. (with an LCII, he must be joking?))
I got wind, don't ask me where I can't remember, of the possibility of a Quantum Leap game to be released on CD, is this just nonsense or is there some truth to it? Comments and info to you know where.
Well that just about covers it. Except to say if anyone reads the Tiny Zone then you will remember there was some confusion as to what a Powerbook was doing at a Pink Floyd concert. Well, allow me to clear up. The Powerbook was not being used to run the lights or sound as far as I know, but to run the hieroglyphic thingies downstage. To my knowledge a Mac is not used to run any lights at all with the possible exception of LSD's ICONS. Anyone (#ALD members, Nick, Vari*Lite?) can correct me on this but I think I'm right. I will say this though the preferred (that is to say I haven't seen any other type) notebook computers used by lighting crews and the like are Powerbooks of varying flavours, I've even seen one lucky bugger with a 540c!
As for the strangest place for a Mac, I've seen 2 used on a beach in South Africa. Being used to program those ICON's that I was just talking about. They were a Powerbook 145 and an SE/30. I wish I could tell you more but a year ago I didn't know that I would be entering a competition like this, besides, I was putting up the ICONS to program!
