Macking 47

Questions, questions...
Hi, Michael. Is it true that the G3 doesn't have a floppy drive? If it doesn't, is there one that can be installed internally? Thanks. . .ff
It doesn't have an internal one. It does have an (optional) internal Zip instead. External floppies for the USB port are available for it and the iMac for $90 from Club Mac and other sources. We all got used to an internal floppy for free and an external Zip for $$; we just need to reverse our thinking. Some people never use the floppy drive while others use it every day.
Thanks for Macking 46. Your information on upgrading makes me wonder what will be the last upgrade possible for a Performa 6220 PPC. Does Apple provide any information in this regard?
Nope, but Vimage and NewerTech both make upgrade cards for that model. That will probably be as far as you can take the 62xx-63xx series, though. They will all run OS 8.6 without upgrading the processor, even if a bit slow. Make sure you have enough RAM.
My Photoshop keeps giving me Out of Memory messages even though I have assigned 200 megs to the application! I work on files that are usually between 10 and 30 megs in size. Isn't 200 enough?
Enough is never enough, especially with V.5.0, but it really isn't a memory issue. Open your document and apply a filter or something. Notice the second number at the bottom of the screen, lower left. The first number is the size of the document opened in Photoshop (as opposed to a compressed JPEG on your HD); the second number is the size required for the History palette and the multiple Undo feature. The more steps, the more layers, the larger that number grows. Now multiply that number by eight and add the Minimum Size that Photoshop needs to run (10 to 14 megs). You quickly exceed 200. Open a second document and multiply that by eight. Now check the space remaining on your hard drive, or the disk you have told Photoshop (in Preferences, Scratch Disks) to store its temporary files. Disk getting full? I thought so. If you are juggling files of 30 megs, you really should have a full gig of free space. I am not kidding. Photoshop is a very RAM-and-disk-hungry program. But don't feel too bad; the price of SCSI 9-gig drives is under $500 now, and IDE is even cheaper.

iMac Buyers Guide
The Spring '99 issue of the iMac Buyers Guide is on the streets, at larger magazine shops, Frys and Powell's TechBooks. Published by MacHome magazine, this will tell you what USB devices are available, differences between iMac models, software reviews, etc. Good resource; it will probably be published quarterly. MacHome is also a good magazine; although I personally prefer MacAddict.

Tip from Tipworld:
Apple reports that when installing Mac OS 8.5 from the CD-ROM disc, the installation can grind to a screeching halt with an error that reads "The applications "DFA Server" could not be opened because there is not enough memory available to continue. Try quitting other applications to make more memory available."
Apple goes on to explain that this error can occur if a large amount of RAM has been set aside for the disk cache in the Memory control panel. Apple then suggests that when faced with this situation you restart with the Shift and C keys held down. Holding down the Shift key resets the RAM cache to 96K and the C key allows the Mac to boot from the CD-ROM.
(To subscribe to Tipworld - good idea - http://www.tipworld.com/ireland/)

Future Dream Machines
Go to MacOSRumors for their own projections on what we will be seeing in the next 14 months: 900 MHz G4 processors in single and multiple configurations; thinner, lighter, faster PBs with a 700-MHz G3 in the consumer model; maybe fantasy but not impossible.

Not Again
I really wanted to keep the column Microsoft-free this month, but I gotta report that either a bug or a deliberate decision makes it impossible for users of Office 98 to open any Word files saved in the new Office 2000 for PC format. In fact, according to MacFixIt, they crash the machine. Office 2K is in beta right now so you won't see many of these files just yet. Let's see the hands of people who believe that Microsoft will fix things so O2K files in the released version will be openable by Word98. On your knees, face both San Jose and Redmond, and pray to Microsoft for salvation, maybe in the form of a conversion filter. (The MS/Mac development team is in the Silicon Valley environs, not Redmond. All prayers work equally well even if not properly aimed.)

The Dancing Mac
Speaking of Word 98, if you want that silly dancing Mac to go away and return to the traditional Microsoft electronic help, open the Assistants folder and drag out the Max file from within. If you have installed any other Assistants, drag those out as well. This tip is from Chris Breen, Tipworld, who also writes, "If you'd simply prefer that Max dispenses with the noisemaking and jumping about, open the Preferences window (found under the Tools menu), click the General tab, and turn off the "Provide feedback with sound" and "Provide feedback with animation" options."

No Juno for Mac
I wondered if Juno would ever get around to making a version for us - they are the only free email service that does not require an ISP or web access from someone else's account - and got this answer from their PR department:
"Our best business judgment is that deploying our resources on developing a Mac version will result in less benefit, for us and for our members, than other projects that are higher on our priority list. This doesn't mean that we never will develop a Mac version, but we don't have plans to do so currently. This is not a sign that we don't care about Mac users (far from it, since many of us are Mac users), just that we can't do everything we want to. We wish we could give you a more encouraging answer, but we also don't want to mislead you about this project's status -- it's not dead by any means, but we don't expect to undertake it in the near future."
Well it never hurts to ask. Fire your polite missives to pr@support.juno.com.

3-Button Mouse for iMacs
A press release from Kinetic Computer, Inc. offers us the UniMouse by Contour Design, the first USB 3-button user-definable mouse to offer all 5 iMac flavors: Blueberry, Grape, Lime, Tangerine, and Strawberry for a perfect match to iMacs and G3s. See them at http://www.kinetic-online.com/unimouse.
The UniMouse offers a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface and 3 buttons for the iMacs and G3s. Drivers are available which allow several button definition combinations which include double click, control click, option click and drag lock.
The UniMouse is $39.95. Contact: 877.733.2010 or 513.733.2008 or email: deb@kinetic-online.com to place your order.

Need Odd Parts?
The MacTreasures website is a repository for PowerBook batteries and chargers, Newton 2000 parts and batteries, odd software, obsolete titles and other items rarely carried by other catalog sites. Check'em out.

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.)