Macking 49

SilverLining 6.0
Recently LaCie released an update to their hard drive formatting program, SilverLining. Major changes were made and now the entire thing is a 900K control panel. This version ships free with all new LaCie drives and supports RAID striping and USB drives. The previous version, 5.8.3, does neither.
When queried at last month's PMUG meeting, they told me that the new version, marketed as SilverLining Pro, would not be a free upgrade but that users could continue using 5.8.3 as they upgrade to System 8.5.1 and were a little unsure about how well it worked under 8.6.
Well, my takealong drive plugs into my G3 and mounts okay, but the System Folder on it is 8.1. I have not noticed any problems with that little use, but if you don't want to pay for the upgrade as you move into 8.6, back up your hard drive and reinitialize with Drive Setup 1.7.3, available free from Apple's web site. (The version on the 8.5 CD is 1.7.2.)
Unlike older versions of DriveSetup, this version can successfully initialize non-Apple drives and is fully compatible with 8.6. Stern warnings have been issued from several Mac consultants, however, that even though Drive Setup appears to be working, the drive is unstable and you could lose data later. If you are interested in RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives) for video or server purposes, and you buy from LaCie, you will get SilverLining Pro for free.

Pirates movie
Did you see the movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley" on TNT last month? Very interesting look at the early days of Apple and MS in the early days. There were certain inaccuracies, and Steve Wozniak has taken it upon himself to respond to all the queries people have sent him. Corrections, anecdotes and other info is available on his site.
A lot of people who came into computing later don't realize the extent the two Steves were responsible for the computer age we live in now. There would have been no Windows if Gates hadn't been able to steal the Mac design, and no innovation without Apple to lead the way. Although the inspiration must go to Xerox PARC for the "Alto," which showed it was possible to create a graphical interface in the first place, Xerox blew it because their executives were clueless east-coast suits who couldn't imagine why anyone would want a personal computer. They didn't lose money on the deal, however, Apple bought the idea from them in a stock deal; nothing was stolen.
The movie showed Gates as an even bigger geek than I had imagined, and people in the know say that the writers were too <B>easy<B> on him.

Alternative to Jaz
According to a report on the PC Expo in Macintouch, Castlewood Systems is shipping their Orb drive now. This device writes 2.2 gig cartridges which cost $30 each. The drives are $200 with one cartidge except the USB version which is $250. Shipping availability: Most models now, rest in a month or two. The claim is a highly reliable MTBF of 300,000 hours. This is a long-anticipated, very exciting product. It blows the doors off of Jaz II drives in speed (except the USB version) and with fewer components than Jaz it should be a lot more reliable. The USB model is actually an Ultra SCSI with a USB "Smart Cable" adapter which offers SCSI speed when available and USB connectivity when it's not. Since I need to replace my dying tape backup drive soon, this could be the answer. I am always nervous about being an early adopter of new hardware, but it might be worth the chance. Will report my experiences when I have any.

PB G3s and modems
Jon Thrift writes additional material about the modem problems the PowerBook G3s are having, and offers a workaround.
"In Macking 48 you talked about the problems the PowerBook G3 Series are having with their modems. Below are the original problems, problem caused by OS 8.6 and a work around I am using with my Global Village GlobalFax version 2.6.5 software, 56K internal modem PowerBook G3 300 MHz OS 8.5.
"1. When a call comes into my computer it does not ring. No ringing sound is heard. This happens when "Receiving Faxes automatically" is activated in the Setup Helper or if it is deactivated. No ringing sound is heard with an incoming call.
2. When Global Fax "Receive Faxes Automatically" is activated it deactivates the "EnergySaver" functions of the PowerBook G3 Series. If you turn off the "Receive Faxes Automatically" function the "EnergySaver" does function, but you can't hear the phone ring to receive a fax manually.
3. While in the "Setup Helper" and setting rings before answering. No matter what setting I put it on it always defaults back to 1 (One) ring.
All other features of the modem and software work correctly. Zterm works correctly.
***After installing Mac OS 8.6 I experienced two additional problems.***
Key Delay: When I strike a key there is a delay time before the font hits the page. This happens with the word processor, Eudora, etc. Audio CD cutting out: While playing a music CD the audio cuts out every three seconds. These two new problems are not present with OS 8.5 or OS 8.1.
I have communicated all of the above problems to both Global Village and Apple. Neither one wants to take responsibility. "
WORKAROUND: I have developed a work around for these problems. Locate the GV "Setup Helper" and make an alias. Place the alias in the Apple Menu. When you want to receive a fax go to the Setup Helper in the Apple Menu and activate "Receive Faxes Automatically." After you have received the fax, turn off "Receive Faxes Automatically" and your PowerBook G3 Series will operate without the above problems.

Lock Your G3 PB Keyboard
From MacFixIt, July 5: "PowerBook keyboard fix? I do not have a new PowerBook on hand to confirm this, but Renee Mancino offers the following tip for those who have complained about a "flimsy keyboard" on the new PowerBook G3 Macs: "Apple ships these Macs with the keyboards 'unlocked.' As a result they feel flimsy and loose when typed on. There is a little screw on the back panel with a 'lock' next to it. If you turn the screw clockwise until it is just tight this will 'lock' the keyboard into place. The difference will amaze users that are not aware of this issue."
Not mentioned is why this is shipped unlocked in the first place. You need to remove the keyboard to access RAM and parts of the board underneath, but they should be shipped locked, or with a large red label affixed to the keyboard with locking instructions.

Crash on Wakening
I discovered shortly after upgrading my beige G3 desktop to 8.6 that it would freeze on waking from sleep mode, even though I disabled everything but monitor sleep. After searching the MacFixIt site to see if anyone else was having the problem, I learned that this is a known bug and there was no fix, but a workaround.
I set the Energy Saver to Never Sleep and installed Sleeper 3.1 from StClair Software, available at macdownload.com. Problem fixed, and I can even sleep the hard drive too (spin it down) which reduces the heat output and saves wear and tear on the bearings. I would never trust the Energy Saver to sleep the hard drive; there were always problems on wakening. Down side: Sleeper is $25 shareware to fix a problem that Apple should have caught.

MacAmp and MP3
Wow, what a pleasure it is to finally have access to this alternative music source. My Windows-using friends have been mining Usenet for months, collecting all kinds of odd and interesting music, both pirate and freeware. I have been envious of the players they had (WinAmp and others) and at last I have a beta copy of MacAmp from http://www.macamp.net/. It has all the features of the Win version, including "skins" which change the appearance of the windows dramatically.
I am still bugged at Apple that even under OS 8.6, peecee disks do not display Win95/98 long file names. I wouldn't feel bad if they were trunicated to the Mac limit of 31 characters, but the fact that the Finder only displays the embedded 8-dot-3 filename makes it hard to even find out what I have. But MacAmp displays the full filename of the tracks and other embedded information just fine in most cases.
I have a set of Cambridge Soundworks speakers, two little cubes and a subwoofer, and the sound is just great. In the July 99 MacAddict is a detailed how-to article on ripping your own MP3s. I have successfully recorded onto my drive sounds from both cassette and vinyl.
You need an RCA to mini-phono converter so you can plug your cassette drive into the microphone port, but if you want to plug in a phonograph, you need a microphone adapter that is sold to let PC microphones work on Macs. Otherwise you don't get a strong enough signal from the phono. I found I did not need the little Radio Shack preamplifier mentioned in the MacAddict article. I paid just $20 for the mic adaptor, but I can't find the info on who makes them now. Check the mail-order catalogs if you want one. I have not yet acquired MP3-ripping (the term used for compressing into the MP3 format) software, but it's out there.

About Bloody Time
Canon announced the first Mac-compatible multi-function printer. Due any time now, the $379 MultiPASS C635 features color printing, scanning, and faxing. Of course the problem with this type of device is when one thing goes wrong, you lose all the other functions while it is off being fixed.

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.)