Neat Tip from Tip of the Day
Have a graphic (PICT) that you want to look at but not wait for your graphics application to open? Just go to the Jigsaw Puzzle (yep) under the Apple menu. Select Open from the file menu. Select the graphic you want to view and it will open up for you. Go ahead, make a puzzle out of it. (This is the 7.5 version of the Puzzle only.)
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The Extensions Manager
Extensions Manager 3.0.x uses a checkmark display to show active items. The displayed popup menu is where you choose or create new sets.
All users of System 7.5.x have this control panel installed, but many people never learn how to effectively use it.
To start with, an extension is a piece of code that patches, or loads into, the running system at startup. It is always running and taking processor cycles, even when it is idling, waiting for something to invoke it.
A Control Panel usually contains extension code, but it can also be configured and controlled, whereas an extension justs does what it does whenever it needs to.
There are a lot of exceptions, of course. Some control panels do not load at startup but store their settings elsewhere. The Views control panel (discussed in an earlier column) stores its settings in the Finder Preferences file. The Date & Time, Mouse and Startup Disk panels store their data in PRAM (Parameter RAM), a small chip kept alive by the battery on the motherboard. (When this battery dies your settings revert to default, which is why your clock goes back to 1904 when the Mac has been off overnight.)
Most of the other items in your Extensions folder have to do with the Chooser (print drivers such as Laserwriter 8, scanner drivers, fax drivers, etc.) or Open Transport libraries, Communications Toolbox items and other esoterica.
Many of these will not even show up in the Extensions Manager window so you don't need to think about them unless you need them and for some reason they aren't available.
The Extensions Manager enables you to turn different extensions off so they don't load at startup, freeing up additional RAM.
The current version of Extensions Manager is 3.0 and it is bundled with all versions of System 7.5. If you attempt to run it under 7.1 it will complain mightily, but an older version, 2.0.1, will work fine. You can get this version off my web site.
There is another extension in the Extensions folder called EM Extension. Since extensions load before control panels, the function of this one is to force Extensions Manager to load first. Then, by holding down the spacebar during startup, you can invoke its Control Panel and change which panels will load. If something you just installed is causing your Mac to crash at startup, this is the best way to turn it off.
Extensions Manager does its magic by simply moving a deactivated item into the Extensions (disabled) or Control Panels (disabled) folder in your System Folder. The folders are created the first time you run it.
An important function of EM is the ability to create sets of extensions and panels for a specific purpose. For example, some fax extensions clash with MacTCP and PPP, making internet connections unstable or impossible. By creating one Set for general use and another for Internet use, you simply restart your Mac, hold down the spacebar and choose the desired set from the popup menu.
Whenever you alter a specified Set, the setting name immediately changes to Custom. If you then save your modified set to the same name as before, it will ask you if you want to replace the existing set. Otherwise give it a new name if you want to preserve the old set.
Built in to EM is a "System 7.5" set that is always there. Select this set and you disable all third-party extensions and panels you have installed. Do this if you are having a problem with crashing in a particular application. If the problem goes away under the stock 7.5 set, then a third-party extension is the cause and you need to turn them back on gradually until you discover which one is the culprit. This little step can save you a lot of time and possibly an expensive call to tech support.
Also permanently included is the All On and All Off option. New Macs are set to All On as a default. If you are not on a network (which includes a PostScript laser printer) then you do not need AppleTalk turned on (in the Chooser) or any of the File Sharing and Network extensions. Disable them and free up some RAM.
More on Iomega
Dana Smith writes: "I read your rant and can only say the same thing. Of note I just downloaded the most recent update 4.3.2 and found a conflict... with HDT Extension 1.7.5, which loads first and takes over the Zip. The new Tools will not work if the 4.3.2 driver does not load, a problem that did not occur with the old driver and tools. I used Conflict Catcher and created a link to force the Iomega driver to load before the HDT. Problem gone." If you are using Extensions Manager you will need to change the name of the Iomega driver to make it load first, i.e. aIomega Driver or jHDT Extension. Either way will work.
Their tech support department has responded to criticisms but maybe not in the way we wanted. From MacWeek Online, Aug. 28:
"Iomega is using a large MCI Communications Corp. call center in Chandler, Ariz. to handle the basic level of support. Stickier questions will be forwarded to Iomega HQ in Roy, Utah. The company now has three times the personnel to handle calls than before." But it will cost.
The MCI center is equipped to handle phone payments by Visa or 900-number billing, and support calls will cost $14.99 per incident for Zips and $19.99 for Jaz problems. "Per Incident" means that you will be billed just once, even if it takes multiple calls to solve a particular problem.
Scott Thomas, director of customer support, says, "On Friday the 23rd the average wait time was two hours. By the following Monday we had it down to 15 minutes." Their goal is to handle calls in less than two minutes.
Previous support, if you could get it at all, was by long-distance call but not charged. You can still use their fax-back service, local BBS or Web page for free.
The October issue of Mouse Droppings (Corvallis, Ore. Mac Users Group) has a rant against Iomega's nonexistent tech support similar to the one run here last month. Tim Thomas, who writes the Tips column, is no happier with them than I was. Solution for this particular problem (returning defective Zip disks): Buy the ones made by other companies instead. PMUG sells Fuji in the club store. Final solution: Buy Syquest instead; they maintain an 800 number for their tech support, and it is not at all difficult to reach an actual human on the line.
Useful special-interest URLs
Check out MakeItGrow, a shareware package for gardeners. If you have Sizzler installed it will read the text to you (but I can't shut it off!).
The Sunset Western Garden Book located on the Pathfinder site along with a bunch of other stuff at http://pathfinder.com, (or directly) offers a CD-ROM with a database of over 6,000 plants; type in your zip code to view only those plants that will grow in your climate zone.
Design Your Own Home - Landscaping (Abracadata, $49.95) This is part of a series of programs, which can be bought separately or as an entire package. There are also versions for Apple II and MS-DOS. Includes side and top views, and some aging functionality (which tries to show what things will look like in the future). Or just try FaxFACTS - (203) 854-5300, request document #4273.
Reyburn CyberTuner (RCT) uses digital audio recording and realtime DSP (digital signal processing). It calculates an individual "virtual aural tuning" for each piano, then uses a graphic, dynamic real-time flat/sharp display that is so intuitive that most users/tuners can tune with it right away. RCT also includes a specialized piano spectrum analyzer called "Pianalyzer.' You can see Reyburn CyberTuner at: www.reyburn.com.
MacDesign Billing Pro lets graphic designers and advertising creatives track time spent on projects, create detailed estimates and invoices, create payables and receivables summary reports, and tons more, for a very reasonable price. Included is the main program plus rolodex, purchase order, time sheet, photography, service bureau and print media modules. If you'd like to see a demo, you can download a copy by going to the web site. You can also see online versions of the literature on that page.
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No Microsoft products were used in the production of this column.
email mp at moonmac dot com. (I took out the mailto link because that's how the spammers find me.)