PD ROM 1/PD ROM Volume I - Macintosh Software from BMUG (1988).iso/Electronic Messages/USEnet Digests/USEnet Vol. 4/USEnet 4.28

Text File | 1988-04-08 | 30.2 KB | 717 lines | [TEXT/ttxt]

29-Feb-88 10:54:28-PST,31618;000000000000
Return-Path: <[e-mail]>
Received: from RELAY.CS.NET by SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU with TCP; Mon, 29 Feb 88 10:52:35 PST
Received: from relay2.cs.net by RELAY.CS.NET id aa18577; 29 Feb 88 10:37 EST
Received: from relay.cs.net by RELAY.CS.NET id aa01091; 29 Feb 88 10:29 EST
Received: from sdr.slb.com by RELAY.CS.NET id aa01083; 29 Feb 88 10:26 EST
Date: Mon, 29 Feb 88 09:26 EDT
From: Jeffrey Shulman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Usenet Mac Digest V4 #28
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
X-VMS-To: in%"[e-mail]",in%"[e-mail]"

Date: Mon 29 Feb 88 09:25:55-EDT
From: Jeff Shulman <SHULMAN@SDR>
Subject: Usenet Mac Digest V4 #28
To: Usenet-List: ;
Message-ID: <573143155.0.SHULMAN@SDR>
Mail-System-Version: <VAX-MM(218)+TOPSLIB(129)@SDR>

Usenet Mac Digest     Friday, February 26, 1988      Volume 4 : Issue 28

Today's Topics:
     Re: Software for the Mac -- recommendations wanted.
     New MacWrite Demo from Claris
     Hard Disk fan
     VersaTerm vs. VersaTerm PRO
     Locking Mac files??
     80 Meg Hard Disks (Jasmine vs CMS)
     Re: A/UX cost (and tape backup)
     Re: Software for the Mac -- recommendations wanted.
     Device Driver Question
     WISH: AU/X on CD-ROM
     BASIC - summary
     Re: Software for the Mac -- recommendations wanted.
     VersaTerm PRO Ver. 2.20
     Re: VersaTerm vs. VersaTerm PRO
     Ever heard of VideoTrax backup system?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Peter Merchant)
Subject: Re: Software for the Mac -- recommendations wanted.
Date: 18 Feb 88 15:22:37 GMT
Organization: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY

In article <[e-mail]>, Chuq Von Rospach writes:
> On to others: presentation packages. Who cares? This is a market in search

I've never played with PowerPoint or Cricket Presents... or anything
like that. Personally, I'm dull and boring and use MacDraw to create any
diagrams that I need to show off to people.  Possibly Cricket Draw would
give you foofier special effects.

> Spreadsheets: if you need power, buy Excel. If you don't, buy Works.

Spreadsheets, I would wait on.  Full Impact, from Ashton-Tate, looks
like it could sneak in.  The press releases look good, so we'll see how
the final blows look.

Another good thing to think about, honestly, is Modern Jazz.  Back when
it was Galaxy, Lotus was showing it at it's booth at MacWorld and I was
very impressed.  For those of you who like integrated software, it is
definitely worth looking at.  Also, keep an eye out for Lotus 1-2-3 for
the Macintosh, coming soon to a store near you.
--
"Touch my bumper..."                   Peter Merchant ([e-mail])


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Peter Merchant)
Subject: New MacWrite Demo from Claris
Date: 18 Feb 88 16:57:47 GMT
Organization: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY

I just picked up demonstration versions of MacWrite 5.0 from a local BBS
and thought I would give some unsolicited opinions.

Call me weird.  I stopped using MacWrite about a year ago.  But I
haven't gone back.  So it looked strange when I started up a word
processor and saw that familiar ruler that I'd been so used to seeing.
It's kind of like an old friend.

First, I had to register my name and business with this program.  I like
this feature -- it's a relatively painless form of copy protection.  It
removes the anonymity that a casual software copier has.  I couldn't
believe I had to do it with the demo, but...

MacWrite 5.0 wants to run in a partition of 480K.  That's fine, but I
couldn't run both it and my terminal program at the same time, so I
moved it down to 240K.  It didn't even complain.  It also seemed to get
along quite well with MultiFinder.

MacWrite 5.0 adds a spelling checker.  That's about the only feature I
could honestly see.  It's a nice spelling checker, having the ability to
both check the spelling of the document or to check it as you type.  It
will beep on any word with an error.  I like that -- it makes me look
up, but I don't have to spend time telling the computer "Yes, I REALLY
mean that."  The dictionary seems to be a good size, although it didn't
contain my favourite word to throw into text when I'm testing things,
"antidisestablishmentarianism."  If I make a mistake, all I need to do
is tell it to check the word that it beeped about. There's even a
command key equivalent, making things even faster.  The grumble that I
have is that it seems to be added by someone else, kind of like some of
the desk-accessories.  Which means to actually correct the mistake, it
seems to send fake keydown events for backspaces followed by the
corrected word.  Slow?  Not to be believed.  The entire spelling checker
seems pretty slow, in fact.

The only other thing that Claris seems to have done is gone crazy with
keyboard equivalences.  Way back when, I remember seeing Inside
Macintosh with the "standard" keyboard equivalences for Plain Text,
Bold, Italic, etc.  Plain Text was cloverleaf-P.  Works was the first to
leave this behind and use cloverleaf-P for printing and use cloverleaf-N
for what they called "Normal Text."  I grumbled about having to rethink
what I called text with no formatting, but it at least made sense.
Claris has cloverleaf-P for Print now and they're using cloverleaf-T for
Plain Text.  Of course.  That's what I'd immediately think of for Plain
Text.  "Read the Macintosh User Interface Guidelines?  No thanks, I'm
waiting for the movie."

In fact, cloverleaf equivalences seem to have been removed, changed, and
added at random.  Gone are the cloverleaf equivalents for Outline and
Shadow. Also gone are the cloverleaf equivalents for Superscript and
Subscript.  I admit that I don't miss Outline and Shadow one bit, but
Superscript and Subscript are things that people use quite a bit,
especially for end-noting. Checking spelling for an entire document is
done with cloverleaf-=. Command-keys have also been added to Insert
Ruler and Hide/Show Ruler (R and H respectively), which is a welcome
addition.  Command keys were changed for Align Left, Center, and Right.
What were once cloverleaf-L,C,and R are now cloverleaf-[,\,and ].  The
other one that I thought was a big waste was a command-key for Select
All.

I think it's necessary to remind Claris that one of the features of the
Macintosh is that you have to spend less time memorizing commands.  Try
to attach some kind of significance to the command letters you choose.
Personally, I don't think I need a command-key equivalent for printing
or checking spelling for the entire document.  I do need RATIONAL ones
for the common things I'm doing while I'm typing a document.

All in all, it's a nice upgrade to an old friend.  But I have new
friends now, and I don't think the old friends are anywhere near as
good.  WriteNow still wins out on the low-end.

By the way, Apple/Claris, whatever happened to the old MacWrite 4.6
(supposedly called MacWrite Plus) with the icon bar along the top?
Somewhere, I stumbled across this and like to bring it out on occasion.
--
"Never knowing who to cling to..."     Peter Merchant ([e-mail])


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Christopher North)
Subject: Hard Disk fan
Date: 18 Feb 88 19:54:12 GMT
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

I realize that this may be a longshot...but does anyone out there make
replacement fans for hard drives?  A person is my department bought a
Nova hard drive and is very bothered by the jet-like noise.  I don't
think that such a replacement  would be easy but if anyone can prove me
wrong...please do!

--
Chris North
Hinman Box 2509 - Dartmouth College
Hanover NH  03755
CSNET: [e-mail]           BITNET:[e-mail]


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey A. Sullivan)
Subject: VersaTerm vs. VersaTerm PRO
Date: 19 Feb 88 03:56:59 GMT
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh, Comp & Info Sys

What egzakly is the difference between VT and VT-PRO?  I am thinking
seriosly about the MultiFinder compatible comm pgms now that perhaps my
memory expansion is on its way.

I have used the old (v 2.0?) VT PRO a lot, so I know what _it's_ like.
Things I couldn't live without:
    excellent vt100 emulation,
    flawless kermit, and xmodem xfers,
    macro keys (for logins, etc.  I do have quickeys, but they can't wait
for
    prompts)

Things I could easily live without:
    TEK emulation,
    DG emulation,
    EMACS, VI mouses (never work _quite_ right anyway)

Things wanted: Multifinder background U/Dloads (w/o bugs!) Long
XMODEM/KERMIT for quicker xfers (maybe WMODEM?)


--
..........................................................................
Jeff Sullivan                University of Pittsburgh
[e-mail]        Intelligent Systems Studies Program
jasper@PittVMS (BITNET)            Graduate Student


------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Locking Mac files??
Date: 18 Feb 88 02:19:00 GMT



  Does anyone out there in net.land know of any software that is capable
of locking folders/files for private use.  I have a MacSE with 2 800k
drives and am looking into such software.  Can the 'password' program
lock items even if they are not located on the startup disk...(read :
cheap ways around lock not getting executed!)

  e-mail any help folks.
 Thanx in advance...
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John A. Exby, Aspiring CS/Math major at Univ. of Illinois @ Urbana/Champaign
                        [e-mail]

"I take no responsibility for anything, at all!"

*GO BRONCOS!!*     *The Way is still------->SENOR ELWAY & THE 3 AMIGOS, ole!!*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Rob Verbrugghe)
Subject: 80 Meg Hard Disks (Jasmine vs CMS)
Date: 19 Feb 88 23:34:40 GMT
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept


I'm looking to get myself a hard disk :-)  I figure that 80 Meg is a
good place to start since a buddy of mine filled a new 50 Meg drive in 4
weeks.

The two brands I've heard the most about are CMS and Jasmine.  Everyone
says Jasmine is the GREATEST, but it seems to run ~$250 more than CMS.
They say Jasmine is FAST.  How fast?  How much faster than CMS?  Also,
I've heard that Jasmine 80 Meg = 77 Desktop Meg, while CMS 80 Meg = 84
Desktop.

Is this true?  Am I comparing oranges and pears?  (Apples are out of my
price range :-( )  Am I ignoring some other better drive?

If all things are equal I'll buy CMS, though I hear it looks a little
like a shrunken IBM-PC and I hesitate to put my Mac on it.  :-) I
welcome some input.
--
advTHANKSance
Rob Verbrugghe
[e-mail]    Disclaimer:  No one listens to me anyway.


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Phil Ronzone)
Subject: Re: A/UX cost (and tape backup)
Date: 19 Feb 88 20:26:02 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, USA

In article <76000127@uiucdcsp> [e-mail] writes:
>
>The appalling thing is that Apple told users to go out and buy an 80
>megabyte disk so they could run A/UX.  Now Apple turns around, says
>"throw away your disk, purchase OUR disk instead".  I'm suprised their
>is no outcry at this bait & switch tactic.

Sigh. Well, let me apologize for the fact that we here at Apple do NOT
have the most perfect corporation in the world. (I do think we have a
corporate plan for implementing a perfect coporation in the next quarter
however.) :-) :-) :-)

The Apple Tape Backup Unit is a SCSI device. The A/UX SCSI manager is,
by design, exceptionally robust. To ensure that the SCSI manager meets
the design goals of being very very robust, the source code was frozen
at a certain point. The Apple Tape Backup Unit was not ready for the
A/UX source code freeze. So, voila, no A/UX native support for the tape
unit, hence, aaarrrggghhhhh (Apple Marketing & Sales dying screams into
the sunset ...) no A/UX distribution on tape.

We did go begging on our knees to the Mac OS guys doing the Mac tape
unit software, and the next (soon very very soon) of release of Mac OS
software for the tape unit WILL support dumping and restoring of A/UX
partitions on an Apple HD80. NO plans right now for A/UX distribution on
tape however.

Why you ask (scream)? Well, to the Apple factory, A/UX is no simple
product. For example, in ONE fell swoop, the A/UX manuals (all 6000+
pages of 'em) DOUBLED the entire amount of Apple documentation in print.
More important are the "bundles", or configurations that the factory
must produce. I.e., full A/UX systems, A/UX on an internal hard disk
without a PMMU, A/UX on an internal hard disk WITH a PMMU, A/UX on an
external hard disk with and without a PMMU, with and without various
extra DRAM upgrades, with and without manuals ...

A tape distribution right now would almost DOUBLE some of the
configurations. And all of this on a factory which likes to think in
terms of a few floppies (System Disk, Utilities, etc.).

But, we are getting there. Believe me, we winced a lot when we realized
that the tape unit would not be supported in the first release.

And, as for cost, well, PLEASE make sure that you are comparing retail
to retail! I was "beat upon" by a University professor for being much
more expensive that his favorite workstation. I pointed out that he was
comparing our price for a purchase of 100 units .vs. the price for
brand-X for 1200 units. End result, our price for 1000 units was cheaper
than brand-X at 1200.

Anyway, A/UX is our hard work - we here in Engineering finally get our
turn to be on the receiving end of criticisms, suggestions, etc. - and
we DO listen hard. Just like a Mac .vs. a PC, try A/UX. You will like
it.

Remember - it is a Mac. Under A/UX or the Mac OS, you have the Toolbox
and the Mac look and feel. Ain't nobody else got that ...
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip K. Ronzone, A/UX Technical Manager                   APPLELINK: RONZONE1
Apple Computer, Mail Stop 27AJ, 10500 N. DeAnza Blvd.  Cupertino, CA  95014
UUCP:  ...!{sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual,unisoft}!apple!phil


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Meyer)
Subject: Re: Software for the Mac -- recommendations wanted.
Date: 20 Feb 88 00:19:51 GMT
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA

No yelling, but a few addenums to Chuq's comments:

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
>Word Processors

Almost word-to-word agreement here; I am a FullWrite booster (I'm using
the pre-release version), but until I see the released package, no
recommendations.  It sure looks good from here, though.  Quick notes:  I
am *extremely* skeptical about Word 4.0 (did your rumor mention a
thesaurus?); Microsoft Works has a nice low-end WP (especially when used
with that Spelling DA that runs with Works); does anyone have comments
on Ashton-Tate's previous Macintosh documentation -- i.e. will they
re-write the AA docs (I liked the reference manual quite a bit).  They'd
have to go quite a ways to screw the FullWrite manuals up as much as the
Word manuals...

>On to others: presentation packages. Who cares? This is a market in search

Actually, Chuq, there is a *BIG* demand for these things, if several big
corporations in the Seattle dBUG group are any measure.  These guys just
love color slides and presentation transparencies, with color.  So far,
they do it on IBM PC's -- BUT WITHOUT A GRAPHIC INTERFACE!  They have to
give the coordinates to POLYGONS to draw the darned things!  And the
turn-around time is incredible...

I don't know if they haven't investigated the PC field very well, but
the Mac II interface in WYSWIG with Cricket Presents or (rumored
inferior) MS PowerPoint, which does all sorts of color dithering
effects, combined with an in-house slide proccess like the Mirius box,
gives them a greater turn-around time... and these people would greatly
prefer to create the slides themselves (presentations before the
Executive Board are nerve-wracking enough).  There are also packages
which allow you to transform PICT images into slides, and do touch-up
there, but Cricket Presents does have some nice touches for slides.

Admittedly, though, you have to be mid-to-large size company to make
this profitable -- smaller companies might if they skip the Mirus box
and use the "send-by-modem" companies each product has affiliated with
them.

>Spreadsheets: if you need power, buy Excel. If you don't, buy Works.

If you want a REALLY cheap shareware spreadsheet, take a look at
BiPlane. I'm not a spreadsheet guru, but it looked very good to me ($40,
lots of features, has a DA which accesses the spreadsheets in other
applications).

Now is as good a time to mention it as any: for most people getting a
Mac+ or higher for home, who are going to be using it for general
papers, finances and records, I strongly recommend MS Works (which Chuq
did also). Sometimes I think the darned thing should be bundled with the
Mac.  It's not perfect, but the spreadsheet and word processor are very
adequate (get the spelling checker DA though), the communications
package is much improved and now viable, and the database is fine for
simple databases (no relations, and everything on a page) -- kind of
very-low-end, but a lot of people don't go beyond that.

>Terminal packages: I use Red Ryder. I love it. I hate it. Typical reaction

I use VersaTerm.  I *LOVE* VersaTerm.  I used to say, "The best
communications package when hooking up to a Unix or mainframe system",
but so many of my friends have bought it for telecommunications work
that I now make no apologies -- they found it very easy to learn.  Just
dynamite, and THE machine for hooking up to Unix.  MicroPhone's new
version looks very powerful, but complex -- not for the neophyte.

OTHER SOFTWARE:  We missed graphics packages.  My vote: SuperPaint.
Yeah, it's outclassed some by Canvas at this point, but their new
version is out in a few months, and you can count on Silicon Beach for
good work.  The easiest interface for general-purpose paint/draw tools
(though the draw tools are inferior to MacDraw (current version) and
MacDraft at the moment. If you REALLY need fancy object-oriented
graphics, get the new version of MacDraw, especially if you have color.
OOh-AAh.

Utilities:  I always recommend that people get used to the Mac before
they buy utilities.  Get frustrated with a few of the slow points, and
then spring Font/DA Juggler (yes, just bought it, better than SuitCase
(but for how long?  For HOW LONG?), and with several GREAT utilities),
DiskTop 3.01, SmartScrap and PictureBase on them.  There are people who
view me unto a god when I showed them DiskTop 3.01.  Utilities are great
for guru status...

Hard Disk Software: We've beat backup software into the ground (I like
DiskFit, but frankly, I'm waiting for a videotape back-up); optimizers
are a must for me (on a 20 MB, you notice the clutter faster).
DiskExpress isn't as fast as PowerUp, nor as easy, but it seems to make
things more optimal. It's a toss-up on that.

I could mention games, but it sounds like you're talking about serious
software... (some of the best stuff is PD and shareware -- nothing makes
my pulse pound like Air Traffic Controller).

And AWAYYYY we go....

                        "Well, I read somewhere
                         that to kill a vampire,
                         you have to behead it
                         and fill its mouth with
                         holy wafers."
                                                  "Really?"
                        "I knew you'd like
                         that."
--
                                        Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
INTERNET:     [e-mail]
Manual UUCP:  {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, hplsla, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
CREDO:        You gotta be Cruel to be Kind...
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Forrest Tanaka)
Subject: Device Driver Question
Date: 19 Feb 88 16:43:10 GMT
Organization: Cal Poly State Univ,CSC Dept,San Luis Obispo,CA 93407

I'm writing a device driver and am having trouble opening it.  I have
the driver in a DRVR resource, but when I call OpenDriver with the name
of the resource, I get back error -43.  I get the impression that this
isn't working because my driver isn't in the unit table.  The only way I
know to install it is through the DrvrInstall trap, but this isn't
documented in Inside Macintosh. This gives me the feeling that Apple
doesn't want people to use it, and besides, I don't know how to use it.
Is there a documented way of writing and using a device driver that I
missed?

Respond via e-mail.
--
Forrest Y. Tanaka
    Diablo #25, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA 93410
    [phone]
    ...{csustan,csun,sdsu}!polyslo!ftanaka


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Randy Burns)
Subject: WISH: AU/X on CD-ROM
Date: 18 Feb 88 17:42:54 GMT
Organization: Teknowledge, Inc., Palo Alto CA

I was noticing that Apple is making AU/X pretty freely available through
VAR's.  I've been thinking that one nice way to package this product
might be on CD-ROM.  My understanding is that most of the UNIX utilities
won't be be needed most of the time.  You could then copy over the most
needed stuff to your 40meg hard disk, and leave make efficient use of
your hardware.  I plan on buying a CD-ROM drive for my Mac II as soon as
one  comes out that can handle both CD-ROM and some kind of WORM format
at a price under $1800.  This would mean that folk like me could upgrade
to  A/UX at fairly little marginal cost.


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mike Khaw)
Subject: BASIC - summary
Date: 20 Feb 88 04:19:42 GMT
Organization: Teknowledge, Inc., Palo Alto CA

Many weeks back, I posted a message asking for recommendations for a
BASIC for the Mac.  I got about a dozen responses, mostly in favor of
the MS-BASIC interpreter, and a few in favor of ZBASIC.  One respondent,
who is an Apple employee but NOT speaking as an Apple representative,
thought that the ZBASIC documentation was not well done and the dialect
too non-standard.  Others found ZBASIC fast and easy to program in.

No one mentioned True BASIC, but that's what I ended up buying because
they had a Mac Expo special, $25 for version 1.2.  For purposes of
learning BASIC, it is more that adequate.  It has modern structured
programming constructs, long variable names, named subroutines, doesn't
require line numbers, etc., but also allows old-style line-numbered
coding.  It comes with a machine-independent language reference manual
and a Mac-specific users guide.  There is some support for the Mac
Toolbox, but you need to buy a developer's toolkit for full access, and
a runtime package to produce double-clickable applications.

The only gripe I have about True 1.2 is that it doesn't run under
MultiFinder.

All 3 BASICs are normally discounted to about $65 (I'm excluding the
MS-BASIC compiler, which is significantly costlier).

Mike Khaw
--
internet:  [e-mail]
usenet:       {uunet|sun|ucbvax|decwrl|uw-beaver}!mkhaw%teknowledge-vaxc.arpa
USnail:       Teknowledge Inc, 1850 Embarcadero Rd, POB 10119, Palo Alto, CA 94303


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chuq Von Rospach)
Subject: Re: Software for the Mac -- recommendations wanted.
Date: 20 Feb 88 05:47:02 GMT
Organization: Fictional Reality, uLtd

>It sure looks good from here, though.  Quick notes:  I am
>*extremely* skeptical about Word 4.0 (did your rumor mention a thesaurus?);

No mention of a thesaurus. I'm skeptical, too, but look what they did
with Write. No pre-warning at all, no rumors before hand, either. Unlike
Apple, they've figured out how to keep a secret. So it's not unlikely.

>Spelling DA that runs with Works); does anyone have comments on
>Ashton-Tate's previous Macintosh documentation -- i.e. will they re-write

The manuals are printed. I sincerely doubt AT will reprint them --that's
expensive and silly. And NOTHING could be worse than Microsoft's manuals
-- anyone who's using word should track down the Cobb Group's book on
Word. It's the only Word reference in my coomputer room anymore....

>OTHER SOFTWARE:  We missed graphics packages.  My vote: SuperPaint.

Hmm. I use (and like) superpaint when I need a graphic package (not as
often as I'd like....). It could be better, the draw/paint layer
interaction is confusing as hell. Superpaint II, though, looks like
it'll fix all my gripes and then some.

Laurie hates SuperPaint, and uses fullpaint. She gives up the draw
layer, but it's a lot more intuitive and easier to use without pushing
through the (less than optimal) superpaint manual.

>Utilities:  I always recommend that people get used to the Mac before they

Utilities. oh, yeah!. How could we live without our toys!

First thing you want to buy is QuickKeys. you bought the Mac for the
mouse, right? Well, buy quickeys to allow you to mouse from the
keyboard. This sounds silly, but trust me. To make best use of
QuickKeys, you should get an extended keybaord. I just bought the
Datadesk 101. It is so much better than the standard Mac keyboard you
won't believe it, and I've been told by numerous people it's even better
than Apple's ADB extended keyboard.

Here's a second for disktop, too. You won't know how much you need it
until you're in word and need to go in and play with the signature bits.
Great stuff.

Jeff forgot Acta, the outliner as DA. It's not as powerful as MORE, but
it's a lot more accessible. It's a lot better than Word's outline mode,
and available anywhere. you don't think you need an outliner? Well,
neither did I, but I now use it to store an outline that brings up lists
of OtherRealms schedules, compuserve accounts, dates, deadlines, phone
numbers, projects, etc, etc,etc, all as different topics in a default
outline. If this sounds like a rolodex overkill, you're right, but the
thing is so damn flexible and convenient you won't believe it. And you
can use it for outlining, too.

And MINIwriter. you think that since you have a word processor you don't
need a text editor DA? Think again.

>Hard Disk Software: We've beat backup software into the ground (I like

Two votes here, for diskfit and DiskExpress. I used to use HFS-Backup,
but switched over to Diskfit when I started to seriousl hack Hypercard.
Why? Because while using fresh floppies is a nice theory, when Hypercard
eaths four or five floppies a night, you're better off simply copying
over -- the backup set gets too large too quickly to be useful.

>I could mention games, but it sounds like you're talking about serious

I'll mention games. Whatthehell. Crystal Quest and Risk. the only games
on my disk, and they take up more time than I have to give. But who
cares? All work and no play....
--
Chuq Von Rospach            [e-mail]        Delphi: CHUQ

                       What do you mean 'You don't really want to hurt her?'
                                    I'm a Super-Villain! That's my Schtick!


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Al Gottlieb)
Subject: VersaTerm PRO Ver. 2.20
Date: 18 Feb 88 17:23:40 GMT
Organization: Bell Communications Research

I purchased Versaterm PRO ver. 2.20 after trying out ver. 1.2. I found
that I was pleased with ver. 1.20 and it work well in the Tek 4105 and
4014 modes.  However after spending several fustrating out with Ver.
2.20, I find that it has problems in the 4105. The problem is that the
4105 seems to lockup when it is initialized with the first drawing.  I
am using several programs which start the program with drawing a
graphics title to the screen, and then send a text prompt.  Version 2.20
does not draw the inital title and does not display the prompt in the
4105 window.  In order to get the program to run, I then have to click
back to vt100 mode, and then back to 4105.  Then I can have the program
display graphics.  However, I find that the text characters that I type
in are displayed, but the program's prompt is still not displayed.
Anyone out there experiencing problems with ver2.20? Thanks for any
help.
    Albert Gottlieb
    email: [e-mail]
    phone: [phone]


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Clive Steward)
Subject: Re: VersaTerm vs. VersaTerm PRO
Date: 21 Feb 88 01:07:01 GMT
Organization: resident visitor

>From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Jeffrey A. Sullivan):
> Things I couldn't live without:

All these are in non-Pro, version 3.10, $99 list.

> Things I could easily live without:

My experiece is that Vi mouse works perfectly, always.  You still get
DG200 and Tek 4010, just not the color Teks.  That seems mainly what the
extra money's for in Pro.

> Multifinder background U/Dloads (w/o bugs!)
> Long XMODEM/KERMIT for quicker xfers (maybe WMODEM?)

Multifinder fine, not even the minor bug which apparently came from a
last minute feature addition, if you get it new (see recent note  from
Rich Straka).

And it's really slick to work with.

I don't use Kermit, but understand the long mode is there for it. Long
Xmodem doesn't seem to be, but fast (no crc) is for error-free lines.
Probably amounts to the same thing in most conditions, though I'd
personally like to have the long blocks -- it's better to be sure.

A great program.  I'm using it now.

Clive Steward


------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Karl B. Klashinsky)
Subject: Ever heard of VideoTrax backup system?
Date: 19 Feb 88 22:18:07 GMT
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria B.C. Canada


Me again.

I'm looking at buying a backup unit from:

    VideoTrax
    3501 Sunflower
    PO Box 25059
    Santa Ana, CA 92799

The unit apparently plugs into the Mac as a SCSI device, and acts as an
interface to a VCR, allowing you to store data on standard Video tapes.
For VHS, apparently a 3.5 hour tape can store 80 megs.

So, to the point:  Anybody got any experience with one of these?  Would
you recommend?  You know, all that "feed me some info" stuff.  Opinions
gladly accepted.  From the little I know, I get the impression that it
would be a cost-effective and efficient means to do backups.

Thanks,
--
Karl Klashinsky                         "I shall endeavour to
University of Victoria                  function adequately."
British Columbia, Canada                    Lt. Data

e-mail:    {uw-beaver, ubc-vision}!uvicctr!klash

------------------------------

End of Usenet Mac Digest
************************
-------