Subject: Info-Mac Digest V15 #273 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="Info-Mac-Digest" --Info-Mac-Digest Info-Mac Digest Fri, 12 Dec 97 Volume 15 : Issue 273 Today's Topics: (A) Finder Preferences File Dmg. (A) Keeping downloads active (Q) Keeping downloads active (Q) Problem reading floppy disks (Q) Trouble maintaining monitor resolution. (Q)Finder Preferences File Damage [*] TidBITS#409/10-Dec-97 [A] AVI to QuickTime [A] Avi to Quicktime [A] AVI to QuickTime [Q] Connecting Color Stylewriter 2200 to [Q] Invisible icon files... [Q] Monitor Res Switching Fiasco Challenge... [Q] Munged Disk/File Utility Needed [Q] OS8 Desktop Pictures Apple Store experiences? AVI to QT Thanks AVI to QT utility clone vs. the keyboards connect-the-dot font? Duplicate articles in one digest? Eudora addresses Eudora addresses Eudora Pro and Eudora4.0b39-1.98 Java MRJ..the good cure PCMCIA modems and price differences PCMCIA modems and price differences Pop-Up Menu Tweaks? SFA crashing at startup Solution to reading IM digests in Easy View via Netscape sparq drives? V-Ram and Ram Testing... Warning to Fastback Users - Don't Use It! Zip failure after power cut (R) The Info-Mac Network is a volunteer organization that publishes the Info-Mac Digest and operates the Info-Mac Archive, a large network of FTP sites containing gigabytes of freely distributable Macintosh software. For more information, visit the Info-Mac Web site at . Email Addresses and Instructions: * To submit articles to the digest, email . * To subscribe, send email to with subscribe in the Subject line. * To unsubscribe, send email to with unsubscribe in the Subject line. * To change your address, unsubscribe from the old address, then subscribe from the new address. If that fails, try using the list maintenance form at before contacting us. * Please send administrative queries to . * To submit files for the archive, email the binhexed file with a description to . 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We'd also like to thank AOL for the main Info-Mac machine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Info-Mac Digest V15 #273" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 08:16:28 -0500 (EST) From: Lindsey Subject: (A) Finder Preferences File Dmg. Your finder preference file often will become corrupt. To fix any problems drag the finder's preference file to the desktop and reboot your mac. After not finding a pref file, the finder application will build a new preference file. Now, most of your control panel settings will be lost and you will have to spend time re-adjusting to your preference You should see some of your problems go away. Regards, Scott Lindsey ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 08:45:01 -0500 From: "Victor Daniel a.k.a the MacNut" Subject: (A) Keeping downloads active >Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 08:28:52 -0600 (CST) >From: "Tristan J. Meisters" >Subject: (Q) Keeping downloads active > >Hello Everyone! I have had some trouble recently with my ISP dropping the >connection. I have talked to them at length about it but they have no idea >what the problem is. But anyway, I do a lot of downloading on a regulat >basis and in most cases the files are several MB or larger. So, I guess my >question is, does anoyone know of a way to keep a download active when the >connection drops? Hey Tristan, you should try the latest version of Fetch (3.0.3 I believe) which has the capability to resume downloads from the point you were disconnected. Don't know if Anarchie has that ability, but look around in the preferences and online help to check. I'm quite sure Netscape won't do it, though. The MacNut | Victor Daniel a.k.a The MacNut Home page in progress at: | | macnut@netaxs.com http://www.netaxs.com/~macnut | | vdaniel@achtung.eng.temple.edu vdaniel@thunder.ocis.temple.edu | ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 05:04:55 -0800 From: Daly Jessup Subject: (Q) Keeping downloads active Tristan J. Meisters wrote: >Hello Everyone! I have had some trouble recently with my ISP dropping the >connection. I have talked to them at length about it but they have no idea >what the problem is. But anyway, I do a lot of downloading on a regulat >basis and in most cases the files are several MB or larger. So, I guess my >question is, does anoyone know of a way to keep a download active when the >connection drops? I mean so that if the connection drops I can reconnect >and continue my download right from where I lost the connection? I recall a >ways back that netscape used to have this function in a beta version of >their browser but that feature does not seem to be available in the latest >release. Currently my downloading is done either using Anarchie for ftp or >Netscape for the http downloads. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I believe Fetch 3.0.3 has that feature, though I've never had to use it. Daly Daly Jessup mailto:jessup@san.rr.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 23:07:04 -0800 From: Tristan & Stephanie Jutras Subject: (Q) Problem reading floppy disks Hi: >My problem with reading floppy disks, about which I posted a question >earlier, has evolved to this point: I have a disk that I can read in any >startup configuration, except when I start with the SHIFT key down (all >extensions off). My guess would be that this is a DOS-formatted disk that is unreadable when the "PC Exchange" extension is disabled (with all the others) when the SHIFT key is depressed during start up. --Tristan Jutras --North Vancouver, BC -- Know anyone in France or Germany? http://www.freedom4life.com ------ --------- Tristan & Stephanie Jutras mailto:trisstep@ashford.bc.ca ---- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 16:44:27 -0500 From: jasendorf@solarstop.net (John Asendorf) Subject: (Q) Trouble maintaining monitor resolution. I'm having trouble maintaining any resolution other than 640 x 480 on my Radius PrecisionColorDisplay/19. I have the driver "Radius Resolutions" on my machine which will usually kick in in the Monitor and Sounds CP, but after a shutdown or two will get lost... Any suggestions? System 7.5.5, Quadra 800, Video card for the Radius... Thanks in advance, John P. Asendorf jasendorf@solarstop.net ------------------------------ Date: 10 Dec 97 07:22:06 -0500 From: Bill Waits Subject: (Q)Finder Preferences File Damage lhawkin@caribnet.net wrote: >>As result of running Tech Tools...I discovered that I have a damaged >>Finder Preferences File, which"should be replaced with a back-up copy".... >>Question: how do I do this? If I throw it away, will a new one be >>automatically set up? Yes. All you have to do is trash the original and restart, then set whatever preferences are affected. Hope that this helps... Bill Waits ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 23:09:47 -0800 From: TidBITS Editors Subject: [*] TidBITS#409/10-Dec-97 TidBITS#409/10-Dec-97 In this issue we share gift suggestions from TidBITS readers far and wide and add a few of our own. Suggestions range from the mundane (such as a good spelling checker) to the unexpected (imagine using a Mac as the base of a floral arrangement!). We also point you to a few resources for matching up your old computer equipment with people who can use it. Topics: GiftBITS/10-Dec-97 Entertainment Business Software Input Devices and Accessories Macintosh Hardware Miscellaneous (But Cool!) Sponsors Donate Hardware, Donate Disks Shareware Spirit [Archived as /info-mac/per/tb/tidbits-409.etx; 30K] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 08:15:21 -0800 From: mark hurty Subject: [A] AVI to QuickTime > When I receive her movies(via Communicator email) they are as attached files. > When attempting to open one, I get the message that Communicator cannot find > an AVI to QT utility and what would I like to do with the file (so far, > they're all saved to disk). > > Anybody have any idea how I can view these? I'm sure the future of the planet > hinges on my viewing these silly things, but it would be pleasant to give her > my HONEST opinion. > You can get a plugin for Navigator/Communicator that will stream (play as they are downloading) AVI clips. I believe there are a couple available for free on the Netscape site. Start here ... http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/version_2.0/plugins/index.html ... for information about plugins. I've used a plugin from Iterated systems (available on the Netscape list) to solve a similar problem. Mark Hurty hurty@idiom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 17:04:58 -0500 From: "Jeremy N. Thornhill" Subject: [A] Avi to Quicktime There's a little utility called the "avi to qt kit" (or something similar) in the archives; I was able to find it by searching for avi +qt at the hyperarchive. Note that some avi movies use codecs which are not yet available on a mac, so it won't be able to convert them. BTW, the upcoming release of Quicktime 3.0 should include support for avi files. Jeremy Thornhill jnthornh@eos.ncsu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 97 09:41:34 -0500 From: Chris Gervais Subject: [A] AVI to QuickTime [snip] >Anybody have any idea how I can view these? I'm sure the future of the >planet >hinges on my viewing these silly things, but it would be pleasant to give her >my HONEST opinion. Run, don't walk, to and download the QuickTime 3.0 beta. It will let you view .AVI movies through the MoviePlayer application and do other incredible things (it might even let you view .AVI movies in Netscape with the QuickTime Plug-in 2.0). I found the AVI->QuickTime utility to be pretty spotty in its translation. Now that QuickTime has a ton of new file format features built in, it's the way to go! Cheers, Chris ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 13:06:01 From: BERNARD@sains.com.my (Bernard Lye,SAINS) Subject: [Q] Connecting Color Stylewriter 2200 to Hi there, Having tried the Mac Wizards list with no solution they suggested to me to try you guys. I have an interesting problem here. I have a Color Stylewriter 2200 which I really like and works just great with my Powerbook. I was wondering if I could use the printer with a PC from the serial port. Does anyone have the pinouts for such a seriaI cable? (serial 9 to apple mini din). I heard that this Stylewriter is actually made by Canon so I was wondering if any of the Windoze Canon drivers work. Failing that does Apple or anyone else make suitable drivers and where can I get them. Thanks. bernard bernard@sains.com.my ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 22:01:49 -0800 From: mark hurty Subject: [Q] Invisible icon files... I am plagued by hundreds of the invisible "Icon" that OS8 litters about the file system. I can find them, but I can't get rid of them. "Invisible files cannot be deleted," says my Mac, when asked to get rid of the pesky buggers. They can't be moved, either, Mac says. So...what do I do? Mark Hurty hurty@idiom.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 12:12:00 -0800 From: garrett Subject: [Q] Monitor Res Switching Fiasco Challenge... There have bee many solutions out there to help u switch monitor settings (res and bitdepth), however, I seem to have hit a wall and can't find anything to help me automate settings involving some "specific" options. Here's the deal: Some stats: PM 7100 with an AV card and I use 2 monitors with system 8. I sometimes "Display VIDEO on Television" but I have to go thru all these steps to do so (specifically, there is an app i use with SPECIFIC monitor settings): 1) Open monitors CP, click on the monitor connected to the video card, and select OPTIONS. 2) Change the resolution of the monitor from the res it's at (in my case 1024x768) to 640x480 (the res the card likes for TV) and click OK. 3) Change the Bitdepth to 256. 4) Goto OPTIONS again and select, "Display Video on Television," "NTSC Standard," and check the box "Use flicker-free standard." and then click OK. 5) I have to CONFIRM all this thru a dialog box asking me to "SWITCH" settings, then I'm home free. When I'm done with the app that I use with these settings, then I reverse the process. Big pain. So here is the question: Is there a way to add support for the "extra" options that involve the DISPLAY on TV (screen shot included), so I can reduce or eliminate this pain? Either in an Applescript applette or Control Strip or app? Any ideas? Private messages encouraged. TIA, garrett garrett@mXm.com http://www.mXm.com/ mXm imaging ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 23:05:23 -0500 From: Allan Hunter Subject: [Q] Munged Disk/File Utility Needed I've got a FileMaker Pro data file on a disk that has some bad blocks, which means the file will not open, will not copy, will not be duplicated, will not consent to be the source from which data is imported to a fresh new file, will not even submit to being Recovered using FileMaker's "recover" command... The disk, incidentally, is a Jaz cartridge, which makes me 2 for 3 now . I have no utilities which will copy a file as best it can instead of cancelling the operation when it hits the bad blocks. The closest I come is MacTools, the Clinic (formerly Rescue) module of which will do exactly this with a file during the course of checking for bad blocks, if it finds bad blocks that are currently occupied by a file. That would be wonderful except that there is no mechanism for pointing MacTools at the specific file and saying "copy this sucker", you have to wait for it to check the whole drive for bad blocks, and, unfortunately, the Jaz cart doesn't cooperate with MacTools--about midway through the process, it starts klunking and clanking and the thermometer-gauge makes no further progress even when you leave it on for hours and hours. Instead of reporting "There's a bad block and such-and-such location and there's a file there, do you want to copy it to another disk?", MacTools just bogs down getting nowhere and I have to cancel. Short of shipping the jaz cartridge off to one of those data-recovery specialist shops, is there any means of scraping this file off the jaz disk? I'm pretty sure that if I can copy it to somewhere else, I can either recover it or import its data to a new database file. During attempted Finder copy or attempted FileMaker recovery, it makes it over 95% of the way before it hits the bad blocks. (On FileMaker Open attempts, it hits them right away. Header information stored at what is usually the end of the file?). A stubborn file copy utility that will copy a file or as much of it as it can grab ahold of is what I'm searching for. Allan Hunter Allan Hunter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 14:35:29 -0800 (PST) From: Tina Subject: [Q] OS8 Desktop Pictures Hi and thanks to everyone for the help they gave me with my last OS8 problem. Seems I have another one now can anyone help? When choosing a desktop picture that had previously worked fine, I set the desktop and see the picture appear for a split second the disappear again?! any ideas what could be causing this? TIA Tina ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 18:13:55 -0800 From: "Adam C. Engst" Subject: Apple Store experiences? Out of curiousity, has anyone here purchased anything from the Apple Store online? How did it go? What was your overall experience? Oddly enough, I haven't seen much discussion of this at all online. cheers... -Adam -- Adam C. Engst --- "Eudora for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide" available! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 19:23:33 +0000 From: Tim Brogdon Subject: AVI to QT Thanks Yippee! and thanks to one and all who came to my recent rescue! By the way, the movies ARE hilarious! Some little kid on his way thru the yard gets swallowed up by a seemingly innocent snowman. I feel so liberated!!!! (I do suppose this wasn't THAT big of a deal, shucks). Thanks again, Tim tbrogdon@memphis.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 13:07:03 -0700 From: Jon Huck Subject: AVI to QT utility > When I receive her movies(via Communicator email) they are as attached files. > When attempting to open one, I get the message that Communicator cannot find > an AVI to QT utility and what would I like to do with the file (so far, > they're all saved to disk). > > Anybody have any idea how I can view these? I'm sure the future of the planet > hinges on my viewing these silly things, but it would be pleasant to give her > my HONEST opinion. Hi Tim, At download. com you can find a great shareware program to convert these files. It's called, oddly enough, "AVI to QT". It works great and couldn't be easier to use. Good Luck, Jon Huck ------------------------------ Date: 11 Dec 97 09:44:44 +0000 From: "m. fletcher" Subject: clone vs. the keyboards hi, everybody. so: when i found my starmax clone couldn't see basic startup key presses (like extensions off) from the cheap performantz keyboard i'd been using with my old 7100, i replaced it with the cheap bundled motorola keyboard that came with it. now i find that the moto keyboard doesn't send certain key combinations. i wouldn't have noticed, but in marathon i suddenly can't run fast while making a right turn. the apple keyboard had no problems. i didn't check the performantz. again, just curious. fyi: correct procedure for cleaning your quality original apple keyboard when you spill large amounts of questionable fluids and resins into it is to submerge for an hour in distilled water and drip dry for a day (or so i read.) i would recommend NOT unloading the contents of an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol into the machine, as it kills keys dead. dead nancy http://home.earthlink.net/~deadnancy/ see you in hell! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 21:59:24 +0000 From: Jack Countryman Subject: connect-the-dot font? A teacher at a local school is interested in finding a 'connect-the-dot' style font which could be used to create worksheets to teach kindergarten/first grade/special needs students how to draw letters/numbers. It would be preferable for this to be TrueType or scalable font for Macintosh computers. Ideally, the font would look similar to the 'D'Nealian' style of letters taught in the schools here at that grade level. Has anyone seen anything like this? If not, can anyone tell me how I could create such a font, perhaps by scanning these in from one of the workbooks or other book/workpage with that font. I have an old Apple scanner available. What software would I need? How do I get the scanned graphics converted/recognized as a font? How do I 'assign' each graphic to the correct 'letter'? All ideas welcome. Thanks in advance. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 18:22:09 -0800 From: Info-Mac Moderator Subject: Duplicate articles in one digest? At 1:55 PM -0500 12/11/97, Howard M. Fried wrote: >Please correct me if I'm wrong but it seems that often software upload >articles in the Info-Mac digest are posted in multiples, one for a PPC >version, one for 68K, sometimes one for Japanese or other language >versions. But the text descriptions, which may be rather long in some >cases, are exactly (or nearly exactly) the same in each article (and all >written in the same language). If so, is it necessary to post 2, 3, or >sometimes 4 identical articles where the only difference is in the version >of the software? One article with all the various version URLs would be >sufficient. Since our archiving process is heavily automated, as it has to be to deal with the vast quantity of submissions we receive, problems like this are unavoidable. Basically, if we receive multiple versions of a file (68K and PPC, or localized versions), that's just like receiving completely different files as far as the process of archiving goes. Sorry, but that's the tradeoff for us being able to handle the volume. cheers... -Adam -- Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Publisher/Info-Mac Moderator -- ace@tidbits.com http://www.tidbits.com/ -- http://www.tidbits.com/adam/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 20:19:13 -0500 From: Holleran Greenburger Subject: Eudora addresses Just an addendum, if you weren't aware; Eudora Pro for mac v3.1.1 (just out) has built in support for multiple email accounts ~without~ going through all that copying of Eudora folders. MUch more convenient for someone retrieving email from 4 accounts daily, as I do. Holleran Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 14:27:43 -0800 From: "Adam C. Engst" Subject: Eudora addresses >I've just started using Eudora instead of Netscape for e-mail and I have >a couple of questions I hope someone can help me with. > >1) Is it possible to import an address book from Netscape 3 to Eudora 3? I don't know of any way to do this automatically, although I haven't researched it carefully. However, I did just take a look at the Netscape AddressBook.html file and the Eudora Nicknames file, and wrote a NisusWriter macro that can convert between them (I don't know if it's perfect, but it worked on my samples). If anyone wants the macro, just let me know. >2) How do you set up Eudora to deal with multiple mail accounts, without >manually changing the settings file each time. Definite FAQ here. :-) (Shamless Plug: I cover this and gobs more in my latest book, "Eudora for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide" - you can learn more and see Eudora tips and news at my site at: ) The trick is to make a new folder, put a _copy_ of the Eudora Settings file in that folder, and launch Eudora by double-clicking on the Eudora Settings file. Then you can configure the second Eudora Settings file however you want. From then on, just make sure to launch Eudora by double-clicking the settings files (make aliases with different names and put them in your Apple Menu Items folder, for instance). cheers... -Adam -- Adam C. Engst --- "Eudora for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide" available! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 11:12:00 -0800 From: "Adam C. Engst" Subject: Eudora addresses At 8:19 PM -0500 12/10/97, Holleran Greenburger wrote: >Just an addendum, if you weren't aware; Eudora Pro for mac v3.1.1 (just >out) has built in support for multiple email accounts ~without~ going >through all that copying of Eudora folders. MUch more convenient for >someone retrieving email from 4 accounts daily, as I do. Yes, my mistake. Personalities in Eudora Pro are of course the way for an _individual_ to check multiple accounts (and I use them heavily for that). For some reason, I read the original question as wanting to check multiple accounts for _multiple_ people sharing the same computer, and no matter what version of Eudora you're using, you'll want to do the multiple folders bit at that point so you and whoever you're sharing the computer with can keep your mailboxes and nicknames separate. cheers... -Adam -- Adam C. Engst --- "Eudora for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide" available! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 15:35:04 +0000 From: benoit jourdain Subject: Eudora Pro and Eudora4.0b39-1.98 Pete Resnick wrote: >Since we're in the shameless plugs department: You can also get Eudora Pro >(the pay-for version) Except the self-extinction feature is there any difference between that version and the beta version Eudora4.0b39-1.98 ? Benoit Liverpool UK ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 23:54:41 -0700 (MST) From: Neil Fiertel Subject: Java MRJ..the good cure I discovered an interesting cure for Netscape freeze-ups which I have been having along with, I might add, Explorer freeze-ups as well. I installed the new JAVA files from Apple MRJ 1.5 and its needed updater 1.51 and Lo! The problems just vanished to the point that Netscape 4.04 is now running without a glitch for the first time and I mean running...faster, cleaner ,and for a very long time...At the moment I have run it ragged for the past six hours without a freeze up and that is a record on my machine, of that I can assure you! Previous best case was just two hours. Just in case you want to know, it is a PowerPC 7100/80 av. "Just three rusty strands of barbed wire from the North Pole" Professor Neil Fiertel FAB-3-98 Department of Art and Design University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6G-2C9 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 10:35:00 -0800 From: "Adam C. Engst" Subject: PCMCIA modems and price differences > I thought I had understood that Apple Telecom in OS8 could "drive" >almost any PMCIA modem, even without that modem's "true" driver. True? Hmm, that may be true of pure modem cards, although I haven't heard anything about it. I'm almost certain that it's not true of the combo modem-Ethernet cards. cheers... -Adam -- Adam C. Engst --- "Eudora for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide" available! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 23:58:41 +0200 From: "Dr. Peter Stoyanov" <5040@unforgettable.com> Subject: PCMCIA modems and price differences >>> I've been shopping for a PCMCIA card modem for my pb1400, >>>and I've been frustrated by the price differential between mac and pc >>>modems. For instance, why is a Mac Global Village 56k card ~$280 US, >>>while the PC version of the same card is only $180 US. Is there any >>>reason why I shouldn't just purchase the PC version to use on my mac? >> >>No > >Yes, the software (drivers). The hardware is undoubtedly the same, but you >have to install Global Village software for your PowerBook to recognize the >PC Card, and I'm almost certain that's the difference between the Mac and >PC versions. No. There are good shareware fax programs (Value Fax, etc.) which you might use, and they cost US$25. Paying hundred bucks more for the same piece of hardware for me doesn't make any sense (and as I've understood it, the question was about hardware). And if you're not smart enough to figure how to fix it, you can always send it back and purchase the Mac version. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 12:12:58 +0930 From: monib@fusion.com.au (Monib) Subject: Pop-Up Menu Tweaks? Dear MacFamily, I'm interested in finding out whether there is a utility that can alter the appearance of the pop-up menu function that OS8 now offers. You know, drag an open wiondow to the bottom of the screen and you get the funky little name tabs. My only real dilemma is that I would like to change the size of the font down to 9 point. This will let me have many more tabs rather than a bunh of big chunky ones. Has anyone seen anything that can offer this tweak? Can anyone do any funky coding and write such a utility, it's somethng that I think many people would appreciate. If so, let me know and I'll d the graphics for the AI :) All replies are greatly apreciated. Thanks in advance, Monib ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:42:13 -0500 From: macman@eagleweb.net (Cusumano, Charles) Subject: SFA crashing at startup Has anyone had an experience with Star Fleet Academy crashing on install? It's happened twice with two separate CD's and it does it at the exact same place each time (item8 of 81). Anyones ideas or input/similar experiences will be of help. Power Computing Power Base 200/ OS 8/160MB real RAM ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 19:25:54 +0200 From: ELB Subject: Solution to reading IM digests in Easy View via Netscape Well, I'm not sure anyone REALLY cares about this but me, but I thought I would share my experience with the rest of the mac community. As some of you may recall, I was having problems getting Easy View 2.62 (EV) to read the IM digests (tho not Tidbits or the LabVIEW digests which I also read). The problem was that EV wasn't recognizing the separators between messages. The source of the problem turned out to be Netscape 3.0. Netscape switches the default separator for a longer one of its own (which EV does not recognize). "All" I have to do is select "Source" instead of "Text" when doing a "Save As..." and everything is fine- the correct separators are saved. The only drawback is that Netscape doesn't recognize the file type of the e-mail message and puts up the dialog: You have started to download the file "Inbox", of type "application/octet-stream". Click "More Info" to learn how to extend Navigator's capabilities. More Info Pick App Save file Cancel [<- highlighted] Since I use a QuickKeys macro to do the saving anyway, one extra click on the non-default save file button doesn't matter too much. Still, it's annoying... Perhaps it's time to switch to Eudora... Just thought you'd like to know... E. Blasberg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 18:19:22 -0800 From: David Bell (by way of Info-Mac Moderator) Subject: sparq drives? Here I sit in Ukraine, perusing the *new* November 10 issue of Time magazine ("Why is this man smiling?") and I see a cool ad for Syquest's Sparq drive. 1GB for $199 and 3 1-GB cartridges for $99. Ummmm, this is the first and only I have heard of it. Any comments? Christmas is coming and I need to make my wish list. Should this be on it or should I stick with the SyJet? -David --------- email: postmaster@kis.freenet.kiev.ua ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 23:21:22 EST From: IconRecord Subject: V-Ram and Ram Testing... Are there any guages (such as Cache-22 by NewerTech) to test for V-ram? Also, is there a Ram gauge to see if how many chips are installed? That is, whether it's one 32MB chip or two 16MB? I guess I'm just too lazy to open up my box. Jasper ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 19:00:18 -0700 From: prosoul@orca.bc.ca Subject: Warning to Fastback Users - Don't Use It! I have heard about many serious problems with recent versions of Norton Utilities for a while now. Is there any reason why I can't continue using my old version 3.1.3 on my PowerMac? I have never had any problems with any of the utilities. What is the best alternative if not? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 13:26:07 -0500 From: Mel Martinez Subject: Zip failure after power cut (R) At 4:32 AM -0500 12/11/97, "Dewey Markham, Jr." wrote: > While changing a light socket today, I cut power to the house at the >fuse box (a prudent precaution, I thought). Five minutes later, once power >was restored, I noticed that the green light on the front of my Zip drive >was out, and nothing I have been able to do (disconnecting and reconnecting >the power source, trying another outlet, etc.) has brought the drive back >to life. I don't recall hearing anything about this sort of thing with the >Zip--has anyone had any experience with this before, and is there a fix >possible? Thanks for any help. > In all likelyhood, you fried the AC/DC transformer pack - the black box on the end of the powercord that plugs into the AC outlet and converts the 115V AC to 5V DC. You may be able to get a replacement powersupply from Iomega, but in reality you might be best off taking it (just the powersupply/cord) down to your nearest Radio Shack. Ask them to test it with a voltmeter to see if it really is blown. If the 'Zip' end is at 5 Volts when the box is plugged in, then it is working. If not, then replace it. Don't realie on the fact that the box gets warm when plugged in to determine whether it is working. It will get warm anyway, even if all it's diodes are blown. You should be able to substitute an off-the shelf powersupply from Radio Shack for it - this should be cheaper and faster than trying to get a replacement from Iomega. The key specs are that it must be a +5 V DC supply and that it have the same connector type as the Zip supply. If you cannot find one with an identical connector (or adaptor to make it fit) then if you are feeling just slightly adventurous and are reasonably dextrous, you might consider just cutting the connector off the old one and splicing it onto the new supply's cord. Make sure to test the output with a voltmeter when you are done. Also, the 'outer' shell of the connector should be at 'ground' and the inner tube should be at +5 (if memory serves me - someone please correct me if this is backwards). If these are backwards when you have finished splicing, then you need to redo the repair and flip the wires. This all depends on whether it is the power supply that is shot, of course so that is the first thing to test. Disclaimer * I offer no guarantees should you attempt this repair yourself for, while I generally feel like I know what I am doing, I do not know a darn thing about your skills with a soldering iron. You electrocute yourself - its _your_ fault. Cheers, Dr. Mel Martinez FUSE Science Software Developer The Johns Hopkins University Dept. of Physics mem@jhu.edu -------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest-- End of Info-Mac Digest ******************************