Loading Zips
Have you had trouble reading a Zip disk and not sure whether it's a software problem or a dead drive? A trick is to put a Mac-formatted disk in the drive when your Mac is OFF, and then start it up with the Shift key down. This disables all extensions, but the Mac reads the driver off of the disk and it should appear on your desktop. If not, you can be pretty sure you have a dead drive.
Mac Gaming Site
ekinney@interclient.com writes,
I noticed you do a lot of articles for ComputerBits and did not see any mention of Clan Lord (a Mac - only online multi-player adventure role playing game), so I thought I'd tell you about it.
Anyway, I don't know if this fits in with your other material for the Mac column, but I'm always pretty happy to see great things that are Mac Only, so I figure other folks might be also.
The data:
Odd PageMaker Problem
A client is getting strange behavior with version 6.5.2 under OS 9.1. Even with the standard Apple set of extensions, or all extensions off, PageMaker will open a document in grossly magnified view and not accept commands to fit the document to the correct size.
Adobe has no clue either, and the fact that it happens with extensions OFF makes me think that it is a basic incompatibility with 9.1. Even stranger, I could not reproduce the bug on my own 9.1 system, a beige G3, with either PM 6.5.2 or 6.0. Yet on their system it happened every time and reinstalling the program and preferences didn't help. It would affect ALL documents they opened.
If this has happened to you I would like to know about it. The bug occurs when launching PageMaker and then opening a document, quitting and relaunching the program. After the second launch the bug appears and the only fix is to restart. Replacing preferences and doing a clean install did not help.
If this IS happening to you, then be aware that as long as you do not quit the program, you can move to one document to the next without problems. But if you quit you must restart the Mac to prevent it.
There is also an incompatibility between PM and the IXTV cards from IXMicro. This bizarre bug caused the PageMaker documents to be mashed top to bottom into a single line, like the document was run over with a steam roller. The only fix was to disable the card's extension.
The now-defunct company was to be the supplier of video cards to Apple, but after they experienced a 25% failure rate with new cards, Apple dumped them and the company went out of business. The IXTV card, which puts a TV into your Mac along with video-in for an analog VCR, lost compatibility with the OS after 8.6. Anyone want mine?
Garage Sale
If you missed PMUG's semi-annual garage sale in February, another opportunity awaits. While PMUG will have another sale in August (2nd Monday, 6:30pm), you can find bargains galore at the weekly garage sale held by PowerMacPac, on NE Whitaker St. just east of 122nd, 3 blocks north of the Sandy Blvd. overpass.
I found a nice 5500 for a client, one better than the 5360 he had, for $225. They had PowerBooks and peripherals galore. However, and I declare this to you as a warning you MUST take seriously: There are no guarantees with this kind of buy. The very next day, while I was moving files from his older Mac to the newer one, it froze and never came back to life. Tests determined that the motherboard had spontaneously died.
He was lucky that they even took it back. Instead, they gave him (for the same money) a different and cheaper unit with less RAM and a smaller hard drive. But this one worked and was still better than his 5360. After doing a system reinstall (I had copied over the entire contents of his older Mac) it worked fine. Now I just need to find him some cheap RAM to make it useable.
So, when buying from a clearance sale like this, or from an individual advertising in the paper, you need to be aware that a Mac could just up and die any time. It's rare, but it happened in front of my eyes.
The New iBook
While I was there I succumbed to temptation and acquired a new iBook. What a lovely little device it is. I held it up next to the screens on the old iBook, the older G3 PowerBooks (which have the same 1024x768 resolution) and the Titanium PowerBook.
The TiBook starts at $2599 and you will pay more than that to add much of anything. My iBook, with DVD-ROM and 128 megs RAM, cost just $1499 which included tons of bundled software and OSX preinstalled. I also got another 128 megs for $149. I can swap out the AirPort card from my older iBook, but not the RAM.
The screen is so clear and sharp that you don't notice the fact that it is 1.8" (diagonal) smaller than the Pismo PowerBooks, or almost the same size as the older iBooks, which displayed only 600x800 pixels. At two pounds lighter and considerably narrower, this is what Apple has needed ever since it quit making the 2400s and the Duos, the sub-notebook computers from the mid-'90s. It's small! It's light! Yet the keyboard is the exact same dimensions as the ones used on all other iBooks and PowerBooks, including the Titanium. Best of all, this keyboard has another Command key, replacing the useless Option key to the right of the spacebar. Now I can type a single-handed Command-delete (move to trash), just as the gods intended.
The all-white case is high-impact PVC plastic, with an aluminium frame. The DVD and CD-ROM drives are all the popout tray variety, not the slot-feeders used on the TiBook and the iMacs. I personally prefer that design because not only does it eliminate the sticking problems that some TiBooks have, but they also accept the new mini-CD business cards and other 3.5" CDs. It's a good bet that the next revision of the Titanium will spooge a tray-loading drive in place of the slot-feeders.
The processor is on the lower left side of the case, and it generates a noticeable amount of heat when sitting on your lap. On these hot days that can be something of an annoyance.
There is no handle like the older iBooks. But I can live with that. It is so small it will fit into any carrying case made, any backpack, and can be gripped and hoisted about easily. The weight makes all the difference in the world. It also seems a lot sturdier than the TiBook, which felt flimsy to me.
You can bet John Dvorak will not be making snide comments about it looking like a makeup kit.
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.)