Macking 68

Type 41 Error
Here is another piece of obsolete software installed by a scanner installer that causes no end of trouble: it's the VS Control Strip, installed in your Control Strip Items folder in the System Folder. It is put there by UMAX scanners, current models. Right after installing, restart with the shift key down, and toss this item. Then restart normally.
I had to call Apple to find out what was going wrong, after doing a reinstall of the 9.0.4 system software, replacing all parts of the System, Finder and other associated files. It was freezing in the Finder, ten seconds or so after completing the startup cycle. But what is bad is that the Apple tech risked his job by telling me this. It seems the client's Mac was over 90 days old, and the free support starts from the day you register your Mac, not the first time you call for help.

Don't Register Your Mac
Their screwy policies keep working against the user. To protect yourself, and get a couple of months extra to debug any potential problems, here's what you do. When you get your new Mac, ignore the Register process. Don't fill out the card and mail it in, either. Sit on it for a couple of months.
Then, when something goes wrong that necessitates a call to Apple support, (800) 275-2273, you tell them, "I just got my Mac last week and have not yet filled out the registration. I hope that isn't a problem...?" When they ask, tell them a day last week when you claim you bought your Mac. They do not tie individual sales to a database so they won't be able to prove you wrong.
This assumes a current, new model, of course. Doesn't apply to refurbs unless bought from an authorized Apple dealer, if then.
They will probably want to register you on the spot. Give them all the info you would have given them had you registered when you bought your machine. After that, they will go ahead and help you with your problem and you will have 90 days from the declared date for free help, should something else go wrong.
It is a shame we have to use this kind of subterfuge, because they used to offer help for 90 days after the first call, even if it took you several months before you actually needed them. Hell, a few years ago, they would just help any Mac user who called, period. So be it.

Bye Bye StyleWriter II
Is it too much to freaking ask of Apple to continue to support their older equipment? I guess so, because the printer driver "Stylewriter 1200," which was included with every OS up through 8.6 is no longer included or supported under 9. This driver is recommended for the Stylewriter II as well. (The few surviving Stylewriter I models also worked somewhat with that driver, but I will grant that model is SO obsolete that it is best abandoned.)
But the 1200 and the II are perfectly good, simple, small B&W inkjet printers that serve their users quite well. It should not be necessary to dump them just because someone at Apple says to. No other printer on the market matches it in size and simplicity.
And am I the only one who thinks that the new Epson 777 cheapie printer is the ugliest thing Epson has ever made? It's fat, awkward, takes up too much desk space and has the most bizarre installation requirements I have ever seen. Specifically, to set it up, the USB cord MUST be plugged into the Mac, which MUST be shut down. Otherwise, the cartridge holders will not move into the Load position. This is nuts. There is no reason why one should not be able to set up a printer and print a test page without even having a computer to plug it into. But nevertheless, it won't work that way.
Plus, Epson is changing their models entirely too often. A well-designed printer should last for years, especially considering that the company makes their money selling ink cartridges, not printers. Frequent model changes make it hard to keep parts around to fix the old ones, which I suppose is the idea: Make 'em buy a new one.

OS 9.1 on top of 8.6
This is hilarious. Want to get the upgrade to 9.1 from 8.6 for free? First decide if your relationship with Apple allows you the ethics of this (see Don't Register Your Mac, above) and then follow the instructions posted in a letter to Macintouch.
(I don't know what I would do without this site. It is still my #1 resource for general Mac info. FYI, Ric Ford now lives in Portland and maintains his site from here.)
Hello everybody.
I downloaded the 9.1 upgrade from Apple and tried to install it in my machine (9500/G3/300) that used OS version 8.6. It worked and I did not notice any serious problems other than iTunes NOT working at all and TechTool Pro (2.5.1) complaining that the new system was not known and thus system and finder checks were disabled.
You need:

1. ResEdit Application (latest version preferable)
2. System running OS 8.6
3. The 15-section upgrade 9.1 from Apple

Here is what you do:

1. Make a back-up copy of your System Folder.
2. Open the System, Finder and System Resources with ResEdit (one by one, not all of them together). Ignore warnings and proceed with caution. Find the "vers" resource and change the fields that state version "8.6.0" to "9.0.0". You must repeat this for all the 3 files above.
3. Save each file, quit ResEdit and restart with extensions off.
4. Start the installation of system 9.1 and follow on-screen instructions.
5. Restart per instructions and enjoy a new system 9.1 for free.

Do everything at your own risk. It works for me but I still have the original system folder 8.6 back-up just in case...
Regards, F.C.

Self-Help at Cisco Tech Support
Paul Monheimer writes,
Yesterday I was attempting to configure a Cisco Aironet 340 PCMCIA card to work with an AirPort Base Station. The computer was an older G3 PowerBook. I was having difficulty figuring out the SSID#. Finally, I called Cisco Tech Support. They were very friendly, didn't keep me on hold too long, and clearly wanted to help solve the problem. The tech support person asked what I was trying to connect to, and I said an Apple AirPort Base Station. After a bit of explaining on my part, it became clear the person had no clue what an AirPort was. Tech Support tried to tell me this was an Apple problem. I informed Support that Cisco had successfully helped me configure the same card in a Gateway Notebook with the SAME AirPort! Somewhat exasperated, Support put me on hold to "consult my database." While on hold, I checked the settings on the Gateway and typed in "AirPort Network + the last 6 characters of the Base Station ID#". It worked! When Tech Support came back, I explained what I had done. "No way, try to do something." was the answer. I said, "I am already connected to the Cisco Web Site!" I hung up basking in the knowledge I had contributed to the Cisco database. Macs really are easier to set up!

More Letters
Thanks for the great newsletter. I enjoyed the whole thing. [Note: I send Macking out to my client email list. --mp]
A little feedback for you regarding Mac sales and service resources. My best experience to date has been with MacShop/NW. They know their stuff, have always been able to find products and solutions for me and supplied all the parts for the recent upgrade of our 8500 you helped us with.
When I called PowerMax, they were very unhelpful. I bought our 8500 from them originally but when I asked about the CD drive replacement and some of the other parts they didn't have anything and just didn't know where I could find them, and their prices were 10-15% higher than MacShop.
I have not been impressed with Prewitt either. I tried to get them to show me a Final Cut Pro demo on a G4 and they blew it; nobody sat down with us, we had to fumble through the demo on our own...very dissatisfying. Glad to see they've been gobbled up.
Anyway, just a little one-to-one feedback for your files.
Best, Richard Wright

*******
Hi, Barry Crow here--formerly of Prewitt Consulting, currently of PowerMacPac. I am writing to address some inaccuracies in your recent Computer Bits column (specifically, the "New Mac Shop" blurb).
[Note: I altered the web version of last month's column to eliminate the inaccuracy mentioned here. --MP]
In it, you mentioned that the Computer Store had purchased Prewitt Consulting which is wholly incorrect. We were bought out by a private party with no relation whatsoever to the Computer Store. When this individual, who, for the purposes of this letter shall remain nameless, shut down operations, the Service Manger, Patrick Lawrence; Operations Manager, Greg Austin and myself moved here to PowerMacPac where we have all been since last October.
I would take this opportunity to remind you that PowerMacPac is also in no way affiliated with TCS and, as such, we represent perhaps their most major competition given the size and scope of our business, our 20+ person team of die-hard Mac enthusiasts (most of whom have been selling and servicing Macintosh since the mid-'80s) and our newly re-vamped corporate sales department which serves businesses from 1 and 2 person design shops all the way up to major advertising and creative firms.
I don't think there's any question we're on the same side but I would also suggest that neglecting to mention PowerMacPac in the pantheon of Portland Macintosh sales and service providers is, to say the least, an oversight.
Best Regards, Barry J. Crow
Corporate Accounts Manger, PowerMacPac
PS: (from a second email): I will say that the opening of the second location was not really to blame for the demise of Prewitt--it was one of the few acquisitions that, under the new rule, actually made any money.
There is some truth, however, to the mention of PCs crowding out the Mac side of things. During my time at Prewitt, it was very difficult for Apple Authorized Resellers to make a profit (to say nothing of maintaining a payroll for an educated and, more so, enthusiastic team). On the other side of the coin, PCs, business-wise, are a gravy train with biscuit wheels. And, as such, it was difficult for us to ignore the profitability in that vastly inferior platform.
I will hand it to Apple, though. This last Macworld has totally reinvigorated resellers in that we have new, and legitimately exciting machines and software to offer our clientele, but it also has hearkened in what will hopefully be a new era of growth for resellers who, to this point, have struggled under the pressure of minuscule profit margins at the hand of a company who, before MacWorld, San Francisco, has exhibited an "arms-length" attitude towards resellers.
Say what you will about Steve Jobs, he never provides a dull moment.
[Thanks for the great quote about a "gravy train with biscuit wheels." I have made a sigline out of it. The former site of the downtown Prewitt will be reopening soon as an all-Mac sales and repair shop once they receive Apple certification. It's located on SW 11th at Alder. Look for an announcement here shortly. Meanwhile, PowerMacPac is located out near the airport in NE Portland. --mp]

Great Crypto/copyright rant
Here is an excellent rant from John Gilmore of the Electronic Freedom Foundation about copy protection of all kinds. If you haven't been following the issues, companies are developing ways to determine what kind of content you have on your hard drive so you can't duplicate that-- and the tech is always flawed. They're also planning licensing fees for hard drives-- a bit like increasing the cost of audio tape because you just might tape a song off the radio.
Apple's DVD authoring drive and software, regardless of the impression you may get from the ads and their site, will NOT let you copy DVDs, or make a "best of" set of video excerpts (like you can with music CDs), even though you have a legal right to do so. The MPAA and associated organizations are so filled with greed and paranoia, they are doing everything in their power to make sure that this technology never reaches the marketplace.
Read it and then write your congress-critter. You can bet s/he has no clue about all this and is listening to the corporate lawyers right now.

Beware The Subscription Scam
There is a company called Publishers Services Exchange that is sending out realistic-looking renewal notices to subscribers to Macworld magazine. I have gotten two of them. They offer a renewal for 24 or 36 issues at $70 or $105.00, citing the "cover price" of $118.80 and $178.20, respectively. But this is a pure ripoff: They are not affiliated with Macworld in any way! They take your "renewal" payment and then pay Macworld the real price, which is closer to half of what PSE charges. Don't be taken in!
It isn't illegal; they are just hoping you aren't paying attention. They buy the subscription list from Macworld's publishers, who will sell it to anyone, and then send out their "renewal" notice before Macworld sends out the legitimate one. I bet that Macworld isn't the only magazine they are running this on, either.

Nasty MacLink bug
Or is it deliberate stupidity? Back in version 11, they made a change in the type and creator assigned to a Word document when converting it from Mac to Windows format (previously WDBN/MSWD, now TEXT/DVPR). This so it could display a cheesy new icon of their design. The problem is, the change made the document unrecognizable by many email programs, and AOL even refused to transmit it as an attachment! Worse, some Windows recipients couldn't read the document!
According to Jon Thrift, who has been battling them over this from Version 11 and now 12, in which it has not been fixed, they wouldn't even acknowledge the problem. First they claimed it didn't exist; then they admitted it did but was rare. Finally they claimed that in version 13 they would fix it. But not as a repair; even now they are covering up their goof. The DataViz respondent said "We do plan to append the appropriate type and creator in our next version. Thank you for the follow-up." Append? Follow-up? Come on! This is a serious error on their part and they should come clean and send a new filter off to all users of version 11 and 12. If you use MacLink Plus, write in and tell them as much.

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.)