Macking 26

Installing Norton Utilities
There is a new version of Norton Utilities, 3.5.1, just updated to take advantage of MacOS8. You will need to get this because 3.5, released just two weeks befor OS8, cannot work on an OS8 volume, and 3.2.4 won't even run under 8. You may have already discovered, if you upgraded to 7.6.1, that 3.2.1 needs to be updated to 3.2.4. There is a free update to both 3.2 and 3.5 on their Web site, www.symantec.com. The update won't do you much good, however, if you want to use the CD to start your Mac, and then test an OS8 volume. For that, Symantec offers an updated CD. Since the old version came out within days of the needed update, you can call their customer service department's 800 number, on the CD booklet, and ask for an updated CD. They have been providing this free to those who ask, because there is no reason why you should pay for something that should not have been shipped in the first place. Insist. If you waited until now to get Norton, however, you will probably get the 3.5.1 version. Check the box closely, or query the dealer that sells it to you. If you get the old one, call Symantec right away. At worst, you will have to pay an extra $10 for the update, then sell your old 3.5 for $10 as an unregisterable oldie to someone who is not going to get OS8.
There are several additional applications in the package besides Disk Doctor, and not every Macker needs them all. These extra items can be deleted if already installed, and selected out if you choose the Custom Install option when first installing Norton.
Everyone should have: Norton Disk Doctor, Speed Disk, the FileSaver control panel, UnErase, and Volume Recover. These are the applications you use to fix damaged disks, eliminate fragmentation, and recover lost or deleted files. FileSaver is what keeps track of files as you delete them and it makes things a LOT easier if you need to do a Volume Recover.
You probably do not need Norton Fastback, Floppier, Disk Editor, DiskLight, Startup Disk Builder, CrashGuard or System Info. Briefly, the purpose of these optional items: DiskLight places a little icon in the menubar that flashes when your Mac is reading or writing data to a hard drive, floppy or cartridge. While it is nice to see this info, it wastes processor cycles big time, which is okay if you don't mind adding to your machine's general slowdown. Startup Disk Builder creates a mini-system on a floppy with a copy of Disk Doctor or SpeedDisk, useful if you have no other way to run your Mac except from the internal hard drive. Problem is, System 7.x is so large that it is not possible to do this on many Mac models. However, 3.5 comes on a CD that can start up almost any Mac; a wonderful idea that has been needed for a long time.
CrashGuard is an extension that should make an easier exit when a program goes down, allowing you to save any open documents in other running applications before quitting and restarting. Unfortunately, it conflicts seriously with Netscape 3.0.x, so do not install this unless you get Netscape 4. This may have been fixed in the 3.5.1 update, though.
Norton Fastback is a quick 'n' dirty backup program. I don't use it; I know few who do. Read the docs that come with Norton to decide if YOU want to, otherwise don't install it. Disk Editor is a sector editor for low-level hacking your hard drive. If you haven't the faintest idea why you would want to, you don't need it. Floppier is a bulk-eraser for floppies; if you have a stack of floppies to erase, use this. It is slightly faster than just using Erase Disk in the Finder. I never use it because I seldom use floppies any more. System Info creates a profile of your Mac: what version of the System, what extensions and panels you are running, what SCSI devices are attached, etc. This is useful if you need to call tech support about something; the engineer will always want to know that information so be ready before you call.

More tips on OS8
There are so many tips, suggestions, incompatibility information and 3rd-party updates that it would be impossible to detail them here, especially since most would be out of date on publication. Therefore, I commend you all to visit Macintouch the MacFixIt home page, and especially the Late-Breakers Archive for every tip since the first day of shipment.
None of these details are indicative of serious problems with the release, though. Since this is a major upgrade, with significant changes to the Finder and AppleEvents, most extensions and panels, and many applications, will need to be upgraded. Most will have patches on the company web pages, such as SoundEdit 16, which must be updated to 2.0.7. The old 1.x versions will no longer run at all.
The bottom line is that Mac OS 8 is a wonderful, significant product and worth any initial hassle that it may cause. Once you have installed it and upgraded your favorite add-ons, your Mac will run better and faster.
Even Quadra users (which cannot take advantage of native PPC code) report that it is somewhat faster than 7.x, especially after upping the cache setting in the Memory control panel to 512K. This is good news indeed; I had thought that '040 Macs had no advantage in upgrading to OS8. Just make sure you have more than the minimum memory installed. If you are going to browse the Web I recommend you get at least 24 megs and use RamDoubler2 on top of that.
Until you upgrade your older applications, it is advisable to keep a copy of your previous System Folder on a Zip or different HD volume, just so you can switch back and run older applications when necessary.

NOW News
Other apps and panels needing updating include Now Utilities, some of which work okay, although compatibility is not claimed by Now Software. Worst news is that their press release blows us off for the rest of the year. Their Web page states, "Currently we are focusing all of our engineering efforts on the release of our cross-platform group scheduling software. Upon the release of our group scheduling software, currently expected in Q4 of this year, we will assess the resources needed to develop a version of Now Utilities for System 8.0. In the meantime, we recommend that you do not install Now Utilities with OS 8 or if you do, that you do so at your own risk."
Now Menus still works well enough but Super Boomerang is history. None of the other utilities are worth adding on, especially Now Tabs, which is done better by Finder 8.

Other News
Other news from MacFixIt: Apple released a minor bug-fix update to DiskCopy, 6.1.3. Do get it; it is now Apple's primary method of distributing updates over the Net.
Some Macs crash when starting from the OS8 CD. Apple is "looking into this." A workaround is to hold the C key down to force starting from the CD, then immediately switch to the Shift key to disable extensions. The problem is caused by AppleTalk being off at startupjust turn AppleTalk on before restarting from the CD, or follow the above steps.
ObjectSupportLib is now built into the System file (formerly it was a library/extension). Most application installers that require OSL don't know this, however, so they install an older version into the extensions folder, leading some Macs to crash on startup. If this happens to you, restart with extensions off and check the extensions folder, removing any copies of ObjectSupportLib you find there. This is for OS8 users only, of course. To confuse things further, the Internet Access component of OS8 does indeed install a version of ObjectSupportLib, but only on Quadras. PowerMac users will have to make sure they remove this extension manually.
A lot of people say they don't like Charcoal, the new system font. There is a Web page that tells you how to get rid of it, and put in the font of your choice. I did it, and it worked fine. The new font isn't TrueType, though, so don't plan on printing with it. If you want to use something different entirely, there are new versions of Kaleidoscope and Menuette that both work with OS8 and let you change the system font to any font you choose. I use espi sans, which comes with Kaleidoscope and other panels, including Aaron.
I can't emphasize enough the importance/significance of the Macintouch and MacFixIt websites to Mackers. If you have not visited these resources yet, please do. Go to the Contents Page and marvel on the informational reports and files available there. Just the table of contents would fill this entire column. If you have been needing a good reason to get on the Net, this is it. I visit both, every day.

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.)