Macking 52

Word 98 Save bug
The question: pretty much anything that goes wrong. The answer, once again, "It's Microsoft." This time, they have gifted us with a bug that, according to columnist Henry Norr, will never be fixed and is not publicly documented by Microsoft on their Hot Issues with Word 98 Macintosh Edition page. If you use Netscape to go there to read the article, you will probably experience a crash. That's just the Microsoft way...
The bug hits when you try to save a document, probably a long one, that you have saved many times. At some point it says "Unable to save file." If you simply close it, you not only lose your unsaved changes, you may lose the entire file!
The cause: because of the way MS tracks Saves, you might reach the maximum number of allowable open files (348). An open file is defined by the System as a loaded font (yep, all those fonts count as one file each!), most of your control panels and extensions, and any other running application. Most applications create multiple files in addition to the actual document you are working on. Each time you Save, Word generates a Word Work file that adds to the total. Save every minute and you are creating 60 new open files an hour.
Prevention is simply to close the document and reopen it IF you have successfully saved and NOT gotten the message. That deletes all the invisible Word Work files and reduces your overall file count. Word's grammar checker opens a lot of files while it's working, too.
If you do get the message, do NOT close your document. Switch to the Finder, quit any other open applications you have running, and then do a Find for "Word Work" file. Make a copy of it by Option-dragging it to another folder. Then quit word; opening up the Work file should find your complete document.
I just downloaded (from MacFixIt, where I read of this bug) a control strip module called Open Files Count CSM which tracks the file count number in the Control Strip. I think I will start using it, even though I don't use Word 98 and have never seen the bug. To read more, visit the MacFixIt archives. The best news is that OS9 will fix this permanently by increasing the maximum number of open files from 348 to 8169 (causing incompatibility with some applications). But of course it should go without saying:

Avoid MacOS 9
Longtime readers will remember that I am always harping on this issue: let others be the testers for new system software. Wait a while. Let the unknown bugs be discovered and the known ones fixed with software upgrades and replacements. OS9 hit the streets on Oct. 23, and already warnings of incompatibilities have been noted, including these from MacInTouch:
"Among other things, readers report problems [unconfirmed] in the late beta-test versions with Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Deluxe 4.5, Acrobat Reader, AsanteFast network card driver software, StuffIt, RAM Doubler and Speed Doubler, current Disk First Aid versions, Apple Telecom, Color StyleWriter 4000 series, LaserWriter 8f, the remaining (non-printing) part of QuickDraw GX, Macsbug and possibly Toast. Mac OS 9 reportedly is in its final test phase, with a new "ROM" file version. The multi-user file protection system apparently is weak, such that it can be bypassed by booting off a different volume."
Unless you are like me: fully knowledgable about how to revert to your old system software, excited by experimentation and tolerant of new problems and enjoy debugging them, then you had best wait. If your Mac works fine now, why jump into the fire pit without at least a layer of tasty batter? Every major upgrade goes through a shakedown period. Simplify your life. Hold off a few months.

$999!
At last: a new iMac for only $999. Apple released a slew of new iMac models Oct. 5, and the base unit ships for under a thousand. The DV model is $300 more and includes firewire, RGB video out, DVD-ROM, a 400-MHz G3 processor, video editing software and a 10-gig hard drive. A DV Special Edition will include 128 megs RAM and a 13-gig disk with a unique platinum-smoke and clear color case, for $1499. Wow!
The new models support a USB-based speaker subwoofer and the high end models include Harmon-Kardon designed speakers. The CDs/DVDs load through a slot in the front; no more tray ("cup holder") to break off.
Of course this means that remaining stocks of current iMacs will be wholesaled through mass outlets and should be the bargain of the day. But then you won't have all the cool new features.

Army moves to Macs
Christopher Unger, web site administrator for the Army Web Page, recently said "Government networks are inviting to hackers because of their high profile." He stated that the Department of Defense is laying the groundwork now for more secure Internet sites that will prevent unauthorized access to information. How are they doing this? They moved their site off of NT and onto MacOS servers running WebStar. They were motivated to switch to Macs after their site was cracked Aug. 31.

Quicken 2000 incompatibility
George Chrones writes, "I just got a G3/350 running OS 8.6. I installed Quicken 2000, having used Quicken 4 for years. The Intuit site says that the data from Quicken 3 and above will be transferred to Quicken 2000. The READ ME in Q2000 says the same thing. But when I tried to transfer the data from my portfolios, they would not go. The Intuit support site does not address this problem, as far as I could see. Finally I had to call, at my expense, Intuit support to be told that what was happening was exactly the way that Quicken 2000 should work. Data from *portfolio* accounts must be entered by hand!! I haven't tested this, but from the way that this data is transferred into Quicken 98 _into new portfolio accounts_ I suspect that Quicken 2000 will not transfer data from *any* prior version of Quicken.
Is this false advertising or what. You might want to warn your readers that Quicken 2000 is *really* in a class by itself."
Comment: Since I don't know anyone else who is using Quicken 2000, I would like reader confirmation on this.

Free upgrade
Don't forget the free Quicken upgrade to all users of version 7 or before. Go to the site and fill out the form. Do it quickly because this URL is very hard to find if you just go to intuit.com home page. I figure this offer will be rescinded at the end of the year. Remember, it's a FREE upgrade to Quicken 98.

Another good utility
Craig McPherson writes, "Hi Michael. I enjoyed your suggestions for useful utilities and feel an urge to share one of mine: TypeIt4Me. This great shareware utility will type corrections for common mistakes (like I often type "educatoin", which it will correct to "education"), but its real use is for anything you regularly type. It will take any text in any program and allow you to make an abbreviation for it. Commonly I use an abbreviation which starts with an exclamation point, e.g., !info, which yields a paragraph about the book I sell. For me, an isolated letter "d" will automatically slap down a date, though any of these abbreviations can be easily disabled if you want. Great for URLs too."

No Stamps for Macs
Stamps.com is gearing up to sell stamps and addressing software that can be printed on your envelope-capable laser printer or inkjet. Problem is, they are only researching whether to let Macs in on this. They know about the sales curves but they still need a little motivation. If you think you would like to use this service, find out more about cost and requirements, and then email them and say you are an interested Mac user. Hell, write them even it you doubt you would ever use the service. They have to hear from us or we will never even get the option.

Get Stuffed
Here's a tip for people who frequently need to compress files for emailing, courtesy Chris Breen of Tipworld: "Those who have installed the latest version of Aladdin's StuffIt have surely faced this problem: When you send a StuffIt 5.x file, users with earlier versions of StuffIt can't open the file -- earlier versions of StuffIt Expander can't open StuffIt 5.0 files. Because the current version of DropStuff 5.x doesn't allow you to save files in StuffIt 4.x format, you either have to insist that the recipient download the latest version of StuffIt Expander (something some users are reluctant to do) or come up with a way to save your StuffIt file in the earlier format. This is that way:
"Download a copy of StuffIt Lite. Unlike DropStuff 4.x, StuffIt Lite doesn't depend on the StuffIt Engine -- all the compression takes place within the StuffIt Lite application -- so you needn't worry that your file will be saved in a format incompatible with the version of StuffIt your recipients might have."

Beep Codes
I also HAD to include this tip from Tipworld because so many of you will be getting or have the new models:
"Modern day Macs no longer issue the dreaded "Chimes of Doom" when they fail to pass their hardware startup tests. Instead, they beep. But, they'll beep differently depending on the problem encountered and the Mac model. Here are the codes:
On an iMac, Blue and White G3, Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics), and PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze keyboard):
1 beep = No RAM installed/detected.
2 beeps = Incompatible RAM type installed.
3 beeps = No RAM banks passed memory testing.
4 beeps = Bad checksum for the remainder of the boot ROM.
5 beeps = Bad checksum for the ROM boot block.
On a Power Mac G4 (AGP graphics):
1 beep = no RAM installed.
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types.
3 beeps = no good banks.
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block).
5 beeps = processor is not usable.
Should you hear any of these beeps, and haven't just installed new RAM or otherwise mucked about with the insides of your Mac, Apple suggests that you call your Apple Authorized Service Provider for troubleshooting assistance."

Closing chuckle
And finally, this amusing note from Macintouch: "Richard Smith, known for his research into Microsoft and Internet security/privacy issues, dissected Microsoft's annual report document to find that it was created on a Macintosh. (This ironic example demonstrates again how MS Office silently adds information about a user's computing environment to Office documents.)"

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.)