Subject: Info-Mac Digest V17 #71 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="Info-Mac-Digest" --Info-Mac-Digest Info-Mac Digest Mon, 01 May 00 Volume 17 : Issue 71 Today's Topics: (C) Washington DC/Baltimore area in need of another Mac support [A] Zip Drives DVD and PowerBook Info-Mac Digest V17 #67 Info-Mac Digest V17 #68 installing memory in Performa 635CD Looking for Mac software to create and operate virtual robotic New Mac user requesting help! OS 8.6 Universal version CD 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. 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Info-Mac volunteers include Adam C. Engst, Demitri Muna, Hugh Lewis, Tom Coradeschi, Shawn Bunn, Christopher Li, Patrik Montgomery, Ed Chambers, and Chris Pepper. America Online donated the main Info-Mac machine . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Info-Mac Digest V17 #71" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 15:53:48 -0400 From: "abrody@smart.net" Subject: (C) Washington DC/Baltimore area in need of another Mac support Dear Digest, The only support group in our area is the Washington Apple Pi, which has meetings only monthly, on weekday evenings, and rarely on weekends. Being located in Bethesda, it is too far for us to drive from places such as Laurel, Burtonsville, and Silver Spring. It's annual membership costs are too high for the services provided. Exclusionary appears to be its motto. With the moving of MacUpgrades to Gaithersburg, the only Apple repair specialists are CompUSA, and Apple directly, for people who work weekdays, and only have weekends and evenings off. I would like to help form another group, but don't know anybody else who owns a Mac who would want to join the group in the area. Perhaps somebody here could point me in that direction? Thank you. Sincerely, abrody@smart.net -- Check out over 700 internet sites updated monthly at: http://www.index-site.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 11:13:54 -0700 From: David Madfes Subject: [A] Zip Drives My condolences on getting PCs -- as someone who went through the same scenario I know that that decision will haunt you for years. If the decision is not yet cast in stone and you want ammunition to keep using Macs write me back, I'll help, especially if the decision is based on price -- in the long run Macs are far less expensive than WinTels, especially at schools. But.... Assuming that your zip drives are the SCSI type for older Macs (Older than the new USB models that is, and I don't know why you would be replacing iMacs, or G4s... so they must be) the only way you will be able to use the old Zip drives is if the PCs have SCSI cards in them; but newer PCs typically are not configured with SCSI, they use EIDE for the CDROM and Hard Drives which is nearly as fast, but cheaper, and USB, serial and parallel ports for external connections, so my guess is you are out of luck. Besides the extra maintenance costs PCs will incur, as well as their limited lifetime, this is another case where buying PCs turns out to be more expensive in the long run than buying Macs! Suggestions: 1. Assuming again that your teachers have Macs at home and have been using the Zip disks to bring files back and forth between home an school. Keep at least one Mac in the lab with a Zip drive on it. Teachers can then transfer files from the Zip to their directories on your server and then they can use them on the PCs, and back again of course. 2. Another method is to use any of the several free Internet based "hard drives" such as http://www.xdrive.com. As long as there is a relatively fast connection, or files are small, your teachers can save and retrieve their files from any platform files at one of these sites. You do have a network and a server don't you? No?, write back for more help. David Madfes Technology Coordinator Abraham Lincoln High School San Francisco, CA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 15:05:02 +0100 From: "Dewey Markham, Jr." Subject: DVD and PowerBook Hello All, I am considering the purchase of a PowerBook in the US to bring back to France where I live and work, but I have a question regarding the DVD drive. To try and limit the global bootlegging problems that exist with videocassettes, DVD players have a built-in zone identifier which prevents DVDs purchased in one zone from being played on a DVD player purchased in another zone. The US is in a different zone from Europe, so I shall be unable to view any DVDs rented or bought over here on my US-made PowerBook. Here are my questions: is the zone information hard-wired on the DVD drive itslef, in which case if I purchase a replacement drive here in France my problems are over; or is the zone identifier registered in the DVD or system software, in which case a little tinkering with ResEdit might allow me to get around this? Thanks for any help. Dewey ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 21:15:28 -0400 From: "Michael G. Schabert" Subject: Info-Mac Digest V17 #67 >Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 14:42:15 +0100 >From: Tina >Subject: Internet Explorer 5 Font Problem > >I've recently downloaded Explorer 5 and to my surprise >I've found that pages I have viewed in Explorer 4.5 and Netscape >that have been fine, are now showing fonts in a much bigger >size - including my own web pages. Has anyone else had this problem? >I'm not too sure what to do because if I decrease the font size it will >look tiny in other browsers - help!! > >Tina Hi Tina, Browsers generally have a preferences setting which lets you select what they consider the "base" font and fontsize for both monospaced and variable-width fonts. Apparently, MSIE 5 has a larger default setting for those. HTH Mike Bikers don't *DO* taglines. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 10:17:37 -0400 From: "Michael G. Schabert" Subject: Info-Mac Digest V17 #68 >Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 22:46:02 -0700 >From: "David J. Fischer" >Subject: DSL Connection for two computers > >I'm about to have DSL installed on Saturday. Is there a hardware device that >will allow me to connect two computers (an old PowerPC and a GS laptop?) I >don't want to necessarily run them simultaneously, nor do I want to make the >old PC a "server." But if I use it as a server, can I connect the laptop >using AppleTalk? Both are running System 9.0.4. Hi Dave, If you are not interested in using them simultaneously, nor setting up one as a server, then you would just unhook one computer when you hook up the other...like you would for an external modem, except that the DSL modem hooks up using EtherNet instead of a serial cable. For AppleTalk, the Internet doesdn't use AppleTalk, but rather uses IP (TCP, UDP, ICMP) for exchanging data, so you'd want to use that for communicating across the DSL modem. The computers themselves can speak AppleTalk to each other, but that's entirely unrelated to the TCP/IP stack. Both protocols can be active simultaneously, and one won't interfere with the other. The biggest question is how you currently have your network set uup and how you wish it to be set up after the installation...do you currently have Ethernet ports on both Macs and do you have a hub? The DSL modem most likely has a crossover-wired ethernet port, meaning that it's designed to hook directly into a computer as opposed to being designed for a hub, but you can either hok it up (a) to an uplink port with a regular ethernet cable, or (b) to a regular port with a crossover cable, in order to get it to connect through a hub. In that way, you could either have one computer set up as a server to control the connection (to use both simultaneously), or you could alter which computer is set up to DHCP an address through the modem to use only one at a time. To set up one as a server and allow simultaneous connections, you will need to purchase software, such as IPNetRouter, or run a un*x derivative. It is possible to do with a single ethernet card per computer, but the generally-preferred method is to have the server have 2 ethernet cards...one to connect to the DSL, and the other to connect to the network/other computer. Just some thoughts, Mike Bikers don't *DO* taglines. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 23:36:56 -0400 From: "Chuck Reti" Subject: installing memory in Performa 635CD In info-Mac Digest V17 #67, jennyrt@halcyon.com (Jenny Tenlen) writes: > > Hi, > > My school received several Performa 635CD donations, and as defacto Mac > "expert" I've been given the task of upgrading them. All has gone well > until I tried to install the memory upgrade I purchased for them - how to > get the casing open! I've installed memory on my Performa 6116CD (the > pizza box) and newer G3s with no problems - the casing comes off easily, > with easy access to the RAM slot. But I can't seem to figure out how to > open up the 635CD. I'm told it is very similar to the LC/Quadra/Performa > 630. I'd like to avoid taking it to my local computer shop, where they > charge $25 per computer to install RAM. Any help is much appreciated. > > Thanks! > > Jenny Tenlen > jennyrt@halcyon.com It's quite simple to access the innards of these form factor boxes. For quick and easy explanation check out "The Idiots Guide to Mac Cases" website. Info on the 63xx series at Also, while you've got the Logic board out, make sure you replace the logic board battery (Rayovac #840 Alkaline cube). Do this to _all_ the 635's as these batteries have limited life and when they go, the machines won't start up. Mac battery info at Having installed RAM and replaced the battery, Make sure to reset the little red reset button on the logic card before you re-insert the card, or you may have restart problems. Upon this reset, you'll have to reset some of yourControl Panel settings. -- Chuck Reti Detroit,MI | Member- MacGroup Detroit Mac UserGroup chuckr@mac.com | http://www.macgroup.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 10:47:48 -1000 From: Ed Cesar Subject: Looking for Mac software to create and operate virtual robotic I am looking for one or more programs that will enable me to create "virtual robotic entities" that I can assign various behavioral attributes to, like communicating with other similar "entities, " or with a control center; movement dynamics such as, rate of speed, medium (air, over the ground); and such physical characteristics as form, appendages and their functions, relative size, etc. Where might I look for such programs for the Mac? I presume many games utilize them and some are better than others. What languages are they programmed in and where can I learn more about that subject? TIA, Ed Cesar Cesar@lava.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 12:40:12 -0500 From: "Matt Burks" Subject: New Mac user requesting help! Hello, I just bought my first Mac. I got a used Performa/180. This system has 32Mb of RAM with a 603e PowerPC chip in it at 180Mhz. Does anyone know anything about this system? Mainly i want to know if Mac OS 8.5 or 8.6 will run on it? please reply to kcburks@blomand.net Thank you for you help, Matt ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 03:12:36 +0000 From: rEdmAc Subject: OS 8.6 Universal version CD Hi All I know it's time for OS 9 but I really like OS 8.6's simplicity. I am looking and willing to pay reasonable price for an OS 8.6 Universal System CD.( North America will be great or International English version) Please reply to my email account. Thanks rEdmAc -------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest-- End of Info-Mac Digest ******************************