From: xxltony@cts.com (Tony Lindsey)
Subject: Mac*Chat#101/23-Jan-96
Mac*Chat#101/23-Jan-96
======================
Welcome to Mac*Chat, the weekly electronic newsletter for everyone
interested in using a Macintosh computer professionally, no matter
what their situation or profession.
See the end of this file for further information, including how to get a free
subscription and how to contribute donations to keep Mac*Chat thriving.
Any [comments in brackets] are by Tony Lindsey.
Highlights Of This Issue
------------------------
I talk about the trip I made to San Francisco for the MacWorld
Expo and the Macintosh Consultants Network Conference, I tell
where to get really good deals on slightly-obsolete Mac hardware,
I talk a LOT about my new portable Mac and what I've discovered
so far about future upgrades and goodies for it, I strongly urge
Mac consultants everywhere to join the Macinstosh Consultants
Network, we keep on talking about making t-shirts directly on
your Mac without leaving the house to do it, I emphatically urge
Mac artists to get their hands on a couple of socko CD's, and I
explain the mystery of those "</info-mac/>" URL's in every issue
of Mac*Chat.
Topics:
Highlights Of This Issue
Editor's Notes
My Trip To San Francisco
Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part One
Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part Two
Upgrading My New Powerbook 520 To A Powermac
Notes From My Powerbook 520 Buddy
Attention Mac Consultants!
Making Color T-Shirts With The Mac, Part Two
Important News For Mac Artists
Technical Section Starts... Here
Finding Goodies Mentioned In Mac*Chat Via E-Mail, Part One
Legalisms
Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter
Editor's Notes
--------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
After spending some time chatting with readers at the MacWorld
Expo, I've decided to continue shifting Mac*Chat's focus a little
at a time.
I'm consciously and happily taking two steps back from the
bleeding edge of technology. I'm not interested in "scooping"
other publications on the newest, hottest and fastest new groovy
stuff. I just want to know What Works. I want to know what I
can recommend to my dearest loved ones and valued clients without
having the advice blow up in my face later on. If I learn
something timely and new that fits into that criteria, I'll pass
it along, but I'm not going to run myself into the ground trying
to race head of everybody else. I'm weary of stressing myself
out. I've found my niche, and it's a lot comfier than the old
one.
My favorite part of being at MacWorld Expo was meeting so many of
my wonderful readers - As a result of the conversations I had
there, I've decided to loosen-up a bit with my writing.
I was a bit shy in San Francisco - It was a little wierd to be so
well-known. I was walking from the plane to Baggage-Claim, and a
man stopped me, saying "Excuse me, but are you TONY LINDSEY?!?"
I was a little taken aback, but he was very nice to me. It kept
happening at the Expo, too.
When I got back from MacWorld Expo, I found almost a thousand
e-mail messages waiting from my faithful readers, and every
darned one of them needs careful reading. Please be patient if I
haven't finished various topics yet!
My Trip To San Francisco
------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
The last time I went to the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, I
believe it was in 1987. I didn't like it very much, since I
really had no idea what was worth bothering with, so I tried to
learn everything at once. I've come a long way since then, and I
made no effort to try and absorb everything at the show. I just
relaxed and learned what I could. I still found time to go to
the gym every morning.
I spent a lot of time at the Expo asking questions on behalf of
my readers. I was grilling techs at the various booths, who were
baffled to be asked such technical questions by somebody with a
name-tag saying "MAC CHART." (I got that fixed on the second
day...) Once they realized how many readers I represented,
several of them said "If you mention my product in your
newsletter, I'll..." I would cut them off instantly, saying "I'm
sorry, I don't accept kickbacks of any kind - Thanks, anyway,
though." I'm still sorting-through the vendors I've met, trying
to figure-out which ones get approached for Mac*Chat sponsorship.
In the meantime, I'm still very grateful for donations...
While I was in San Francisco, I stayed with some really fine
folks who are Mac*Chat readers. Clayton and Chris told me to
stay with them any time I was in San Francisco. I did, and it
was wonderful. So, if any of my readers need a place to stay in
San Francisco at no charge, just drop right in, any time of the
day or night! Their address is around here someplace... :->
I'll be adding my observations about good stuff I saw at the Expo
to the next few issues, such as...
Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part One
---------------------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
If you're a registered member of an Apple-authorized Mac User
group in the USA (there are 2,000 of them, with 30 in my
immediate area), you can get REALLY good deals on hardware and
software. Good stuff, no kidding. They don't sell anything
unless it has passed scrutiny by a panel of User-Group expert
members as being acceptable. The catalog is quite impressive.
For more information:
<http://www.ugstore.com/ugstore.html>
If you're on America Online, go to keyword UGF.
Ordering info: <UGC@aol.com><800-350-4842/FAX 408-477-4290>
To be alerted of good deals as they occur (they may get 70
PowerMac 7100's at a really low price, for example), send e-mail
to <LISTSERV@ugstore.com> and in the subject and message fields,
type SUBSCRIBE UGSTORE (followed by your full name).
Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part Two
---------------------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
I've been asking about portable Macs for a while now. I've
finally bought one. I had to max-out two credit cards, but I'm
still glad I did it.
I found a vendor at MacWorld Expo that buys Apple's final stock
of discontinued Macs and sells them at very good prices. I now
have a brand-new Powerbook 520 4/240, which cost me $1100, tax
included. I'm very happy with it, except I had some hideous
problems with my display right after I installed RAM Doubler
1.51. I'll talk more about it below...
I intentionally chose the new, grayscale 520 over the
reconditioned color 520c (costing $150 more) because I remembered
something I read about the grayscale screens sucking-up less
battery power. I can always plug a color monitor into the back
if I need it at home.
I got the 520 from CompExpress, 3381 Walnut Avenue, Fremont, CA
94538, 510-794-9311/FAX 510-794-9314. They said they had about
70 of the 520's left, and that they don't do e-mail and web-pages
yet. They sell hundreds of other outdated Mac boxes, like the
Performa 638CD 8/350, with 15" screen, keyboard and mouse for
$1199. They get new stuff in all of the time, they say. I'd
like to know if anybody else has had any dealings with them, good
or bad.
What are other good sources of leftover-stock Macs for sale?
Upgrading My New Powerbook 520 To A Powermac
--------------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
I was already aware of the following item when I bought my
Powerbook, and it affected my purchase-decision:
I grilled the folks at the Newer Technology (NT) booth for a
while - The technicians there were very happy to answer my
questions at length.
I asked one of my standard questions - "What should I know about
that's important, but I don't know about?" In return, I got one
of the most-exciting tips about an upcoming product at the show.
In February of 1996, Newer is expecting to ship the NUpowr
upgrade for 500-series Powerbooks. Apple's handing the job over
to them, since they don't want to do it, despite the sticker on
my 520's screen, saying "Ready for PowerPC Upgrade." If I get
the $999 model of the upgrade that has 8 megs on the
micro-motherboard, I'll have spent around $2100 total for a
117-mhz 603e PowerPC Powerbook. Compare that to the cost of a
5300, which is slower! The 520 will be 360-percent faster than
it is right now, according to MacBench, if I'm using native
software.
Newer Technology, Wichita, Kansas
<800-678-3726/316-685-4904/FAX 316-685-9368>
<sales@newertech.com><http://www.newertech.com>
------
My 520's screen went bonkers for a while, and I'm hoping it was
because of Ram Doubler. The screen went completely scrambled,
even after each shutdown and/or restart. I de-installed RAM
Doubler, re-installed the System file from a boot diskette by
dragging it into the System folder (7.1 works dandy). The
problem went away, and I'm crossing my fingers. It's been
running fine for quite a while now.
------
I learned something cool while I was fussing around with the 520
- I was a bit nervous about there being no obvious "Off" switch
on the 520, so I was digging around in the manuals and discovered
that Control-Option-Command-PowerKey is the "Power-Goes-Off-NOW"
command. It allows me to disconnect my 520 from my IIci after
I'm done using the 520's hard disk as an external drive. I get
nervous messing with SCSI cables unless all power is off. I
don't want to fry my motherboard.
-------
The following technique ONLY works with Powerbooks designed for
it. If the "Powerbook Setup" control panel doesn't offer you a
"SCSI Disk Mode" section, DON'T DO THIS:
Here's how I connect the two computers through SCSI cables for
fast swapping of files:
- I know that my "Powerbook Setup" control panel is set for a
SCSI-Disk address of "2", so I leave it that way.
- I turn off all power to all devices
- I connect my Apple-brand SCSI-Disk cable (there are others out
there - What are good ones, and where do we get 'em?) to a short
50-50-pin SCSI cable, and then to my APS 230-meg magneto-optical
drive, with its SCSI address set to 6, and its Digital Active
Termination turned on - This makes sure that the SCSI termination
is set perfectly for the connection.
- I connect from the drive to my IIci's SCSI port.
- I turn on the Powerbook, then the external drive, and then the
IIci.
Perfect! The 520's hard disk pops up on my IIci's desktop. I
can transfer files back and forth with complete assurance. When
I'm done, I...
- Shut down the IIci,
- Switch off the external drive,
- Hit the magic keystrokes mentioned above to turn the
Powerbook's power off,
- and disconnect the cable from the back of the Powerbook.
According to the Apple manual, I can leave the cable dangling,
waiting for the next time I connect.
- What are the other really cool things I can do with a Powerbook?
- Where do I get the best accessories?
I'm planning to add a PCMCIA card-cage to my 520 (mentioned
below), and use PC-cards, like a 28.8k modem, since the fastest
internal modem Global Village offers for a 500-series Powerbook
is a 19.2k model. NOT good enough.
Notes From My Powerbook 520 Buddy
---------------------------------
By danpeck@panix.com (Dan Peck)
[Dan's the guy who told me about the vendor that sold me my
Powerbook. Great guy! I owe him a cookie.]
A few more tidbits regarding the 520 [and all other 500-series
Powerbooks]. I have just discovered what seems the best kept
secret in the Apple world. There is a PCMCIA adapter for the 500
series. It apparently uses the left battery socket. Now try and
find one. My local Mac specialist says they'll have some in
within the month. ($219) Having already purchased a lightweight
[external] modem [from Supra, which is powered by the ADB port -
He got it for $150 at the Expo], I'm not sure I'm going to
require it, but it's good to know that it's around. It is
mentioned little or not at all in Apple's literature. Do you know
of any problems with it?
[I WILL be buying one - what's a good source?]
I ordered 8 megs of RAM today from Memory Traders
[<800-315-7807/703-243-4006> Web and e-mail info is pending.] At
$229, that's about $70 less than anywhere else. I hope it's not a
mirage. And I hope I remember how to take a Powerbook apart. I've
done it before, but it's not for the faint of heart.
[I saw one being disassembled, and it's mighty touchy - I'd
probably be a little paranoid about doing it, and I used to be a
repair technician! Anybody want to send me the step-by-step
instructions?]
Attention Mac Consultants!
--------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
I'll have more to say about the MacWorld Expo and what I found
there, but first I wanted to say a few things about what happened
afterward. I was invited to be Master of Ceremonies for the
Macintosh Consultants Network (MCN) Conference (see issue #99),
and I accepted, even though I hadn't officially joined the group
yet. I thought I'd spy on things on behalf of the many, many
Mac*Chat readers who send me consulting questions every week.
I'm very happy to tell my fellow Mac consultants that the MCN is
a WONDERFUL group of highly-professional, successful consultants,
and the group is on the march. They are making big changes so
that Mac consultants all over the world can share wisdom through
the Internet in effective ways, and use their combined clout to
shape the Mac's future. I was deeply impressed with the group,
and gladly paid for membership.
The conference alone was worth more than the price of admission.
I've been to many, many Mac User Group meetings, where some
marketing flack from a big corporation would do a demo in front
of a bunch of random, sometimes poorly-socialized rowdies. There
would be very little connection between the audience and the
presenters.
This conference allowed a closer relationship, because the people
in the audience were professionals and opinion-makers, and the
presenters were techs who really knew their stuff. The level of
evasiveness was refreshingly low, and the presentations were
nearly all exciting and interesting to me. Even a salty old,
cynical consultant like me had no trouble bonding with the
industry-reps there. I felt no inappropriate levels of pressure
to be biased toward them, and you KNOW how sensitive I am. It
was honest all the way.
I learned a lot of stuff that I had been intending to explore,
once I got some "free time." Yeah, right. In my life, it
normally never happens.
This time, I was:
- Away from home and the ringing phones,
- Staying in a swanky hotel
- Being fed like a lord, and
- Treated like an intelligent, valuable person by industry
personnel.
A consultant could get used to this.
This was a wonderful way to learn new stuff that I could use. I
finally got to see exactly how the good, new hardware and
software worked. I also got to spend time with representatives
from all four of the Mac manufacturers (Apple, Power Computing,
UMAX and Radius).
I recommend that all Mac consultants, at whatever level, (on
whatever continent) strongly consider joining the MCN. If you're
anxious to learn how to BE a professional consultant, there are
new methods to help you that are being set up right now.
Personally, I'm looking forward to getting better
health-insurance soon through the MCN (it's in the works). I
haven't said much about the MCN before this, because I didn't
know enough to have an opinion. Now that I know, I can say I've
found something excellent. Don't miss out. It's 1996, and the
job of a consultant isn't getting any easier. It's long-since
past time for us to share what we know.
------
The MCN is planning more conferences, and more information may be
found at their Web site:
<http://www.macn.com>
and through their automatically-returned, e-mailed info:
<MCNinfo@macn.com>
PLEASE be patient with the volunteers who are handling the
Internet connections - They want to keep everything on a careful,
professional level, just as I'm doing with Mac*Chat. People in
our position have to make changes very slowly, because we don't
want to screw up something excellent. Expect membership on a
LISTSERV mailing list for daily discussions and Q&A, instant
updates and the like. It will be very strongly moderated, so no
flame-wars - Keep it professional!
Making Color T-Shirts With The Mac, Part Two
--------------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
The following tips are for folks who just want to crank-out small
amounts of t-shirts in their own homes. I'll be posting the
messages about professional screen-printing of t-shirts in the
next issue. Refer to issues #98 and 99 for previous discussions.
-----
I'm glad to say that the Canon special T-shirt-making paper I
mentioned in issue #99 works dandy with Hewlett-Packard color
inkjet printers, too. Dandy, if you are not super-picky - When
Canon shows a little kid wearing a t-shirt printed on one of
their printers, they're hinting that kids and average folks will
be thrilled. It's NOT up to professional quality, but it's
A-Okay with me and my family.
Here's a few thoughts:
- Follow the instructions that come in the box of special paper,
EXACTLY. No kidding.
- DON'T put water in your iron! Steam makes the paper curl.
- Use 50/50 Cotton/Polyester shirts
- If you're printing to a Hewlett-Packard printer, I recommend
printing the image as dark and saturated as possible. From
faintest to darkest, here are the four settings under Page Setup:
* Special Paper (very faint)
* Plain Paper (not much better)
* Glossy or Transparency (good and saturated for maximum
image-transfer). I use either of these settings.
-------
If you don't HAVE a color inkjet printer, I really like the new
Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 855C. The $600 street price gets you
kick-ass color image quality and an Appletalk interface. I would
buy it myself if I was shopping right now. The Epson Stylus is
going to have to play catch-up.
-------
By Steve DeLine, Linographics Inc. Orange, CA
<sdeline@deltanet.com>
<http://users.aol.com/linograph/Lino.html>
In reference to your Buick logo being screenprinted for Xmas
gifts. What is the finished size? I'm assuming this would be for
short runs. 10-25 or so. Seiko is probably the leader in the
screenprint field with their Personal colorpoint printer - it
will produce wax thermal and dye-sub transfers - using 3 and 4
color ribbons. Depending on which you choose - these images can
be flopped and printed to a special transfer paper and then
applied to a variety of finished products including T-Shirts,
hats, mugs, mousepads - etc. Fargo has a similar process - but
their printer leaves a bit to be desired. We are a VAR
specializing in screenprint applications nationwide.
--------
By Rebecca Pridmore <jrp@interport.net>
Whenever I've needed T-Shirts done, I've brought my illustration
(on Mac disk media) and shirts to Kinko's copy shop, and they've
done a very good job. I suppose the quality will ultimately
depend on your local Kinko's & their staff, but I've never had
any problems, and their prices are good.
Important News For Mac Artists
------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
While I was at the Expo, I bought two CD's that I strongly
recommend for anyone who has become proficient with a PowerMac
and art programs. If you haven't been paying attention to the
newest CD's, it's time to catch up with these two. Borrow 'em or
buy 'em, but take the time to completely memorize 'em, even if
they're not to your personal taste, because your future may
depend on it. They're plenty avant-garde:
- Primus - Tales From The Punchbowl
- The Residents - Bad Day On The Midway
-------
These CD's work very nicely if you have enough Mac horsepower for
them. Using them on an 8-meg PowerMac is a stone drag, since you
have to turn-off nearly all of your RAM-hogging extensions. The
modern world expects you to have 16 megs of installed RAM and a
fast Mac like a Centris 650 or better. Read the back of the CD
box if you're not sure.
------
While you're looking at the back of the box, take the time to
notice the list of artists who contributed their work to these
disks. These folks created all of those stunning graphics, using
Macs very much like what you're probably using already, and
they're getting PAID for stuff that they can be proud of.
I make this point because I've seen an awful lot of art-school
graduates who are designing menus for restaurants because they
can't find any buyers for their wildest stuff. Here's the good
news:
-----
The Primus CD is the same jazzy/raw rock album that has been
available for eight months now, but it costs three bucks more.
That money buys the "Enhanced CD" version, available for sale at
your local record store right about now. It has all of the music
stored on the older disk, PLUS an entire album's-worth of
animated lyrics and stories, using a "tugboat" interface that's
really a wowser.
Ion, 3301 Kerner Blvd, Suite 260, San Rafael, CA 94901
<415-455-1466/FAX 415-455-1445><ion.ann@applelink.apple.com>
It's a complete success as a way to add value to a musical album.
I predict that in two years, the plain-old, music-only CD's are
going to be relegated to the back stacks at the stores, while the
Enhanced CD's are the big sellers.
The record companies are going to need visual splendor in massive
quantities, and Mac artists are going to be very desired as
Content-Providers. Hint Hint. Time to start scheming for your
future as a Wild and Popular Artist.
------
To obtain even more evidence that my ravings have value, get a
copy of the newest EduCorp catalog <800-843-9497/619-536-9999/FAX
619-536-2345> Their Web page and e-mailed info won't be up for a
few months. They're the biggest source of Mac- compatible
CD-ROMs, and their catalog shows page after page of visually-rich
CD-ROM's for sale. Some of them are gaining fan-clubs, purely
because of the artists who designed them.
-----
Jim Ludtke is a great example. He created The Residents' Freak
Show a few years back, and his fans had been eagerly awaiting Bad
Day At The Midway. It's incredible, dark, disturbing, moody and
brilliant, and available at any CD-ROM store. It's the best CD
of 1995 in MY book. Artists should pay extra-close attention to
the miniature visual stories contributed by independent artists,
such as the Kill-A-Commie Shooting Gallery (my favorite animation
sequence, and no, it's not violent) and the Dream of the Coma
Man. Get it. Muy Bueno.
For more info: iNSCAPE, PO Box 251829, Los Angeles, CA 90025
<inform@inscape.com><http://pathfinder.com/inscape>
------
Please don't write to me complaining that these CD's are not to
your musical or visual tastes - They make ME uncomfortable, too,
and excited. They are breakthroughs and milestones, and should
be viewed that way. The market is full of boring swill, but you
won't hear about it here.
Technical Section Starts... Here
--------------------------------
Finding Goodies Mentioned In Mac*Chat Via E-Mail, Part One
----------------------------------------------------------
By Ann Pfaff Doss <ann@babcockbrown.com>
I was one of the poor souls who wrote to Dave Kramer for the full
path to retrieve Mac OS Purge. What was in his MacChat posting
was:
</info-mac/cfg/mac-os-purge-101.hqx>
I explained that I have level 1 connectivity (e-mail only) and
would have to either use a Web server or get someone with Web
access to download the file for me, both of which require a full
path name at least back to just after http://www. Could you help?
------
Tony's Answer:
I apologize for all of the confusion and terseness. I've been
spanked in the past for posting full, complete pathnames and
URL's, because if I get too specific about a file that can be
found on any of dozens of worldwide sites, the site I mention
gets flooded with a zillion greedy Mac*Chat subscribers grabbing
it all at once. I'd do the same thing, so don't think I'm being
judgmental.
The main Stanford "info-mac" site is WAY too busy to deal with folks
like you and me, so dozens of "mirror" sites all over the planet make
copies of anything new there and store them on their own sites
for folks to grab locally. It's good Netiquette to
choose a site near you, to avoid flooding the Internet links
between continents.
Just for future reference, you can get a full list of ALL
info-mac mirror-sites from:
<ftp://mirror.aol.com/mir02/INFOMAC/info-mac/help/mirror-list.txt>
While you're there, be sure to pick up a copy of the following
files, too:
<ftp://mirror.aol.com/mir02/INFOMAC/info-mac/help/all-files.txt>
(over 400k in size)
<ftp://mirror.aol.com/mir02/INFOMAC/info-mac/help/recent-files.txt>
(about 22k)
Once you've got your list of mirror sites, read it and use its
advice to replace all future references to "info-mac" with a site
that's close to you. Here's an example:
If you're in Europe ONLY, and want to access the Belgian site,
use "ftp://ftp.linkline.be/mirror/info-mac/" as the beginning of
all of your info-mac file downloads.
So, the "Mac OS Purge" software mentioned at the beginning of
this article can be found on the Belgian site at:
<ftp://ftp.linkline.be/mirror/info-mac/cfg/mac-os-purge-101.hqx>
See the pattern? Only the first part changes.
In return for my explanation, would you please tell me the
step-by-step procedure for downloading those files via e-mail?
Legalisms and Information
-------------------------
Copyright 1989-1996 Tony Lindsey.
Whole issues of Mac*Chat may be copied freely, provided that
all copies are left intact and unedited. Small excerpts of
Mac*Chat may be reproduced for personal use or by nonprofit
groups (such as Mac User Groups) or for other non-commercial
publications if full credit is given. Please contact the
editor <xxltony@cts.com> for any other publication requests.
This newsletter is intended purely as entertainment and free
information. No profit has been made from any of these
opinions. Time passes, so accuracy may diminish.
Publication, product, and company names may be registered
trademarks of their companies.
-----
This file is formatted as setext, which can be read on any text reader.
I'd enjoy hearing your feedback and suggestions. Unfortunately,
due to the massive numbers of messages I get every day, I can't
guarantee a personal reply. Send all such messages to:
Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
<http://www.cts.com/browse/xxltony>
3401-A55 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116-2429
Tips from readers are gratefully accepted. Please write them in a
user-friendly way, and if you are mentioning an Internet site,
please include a paragraph explaining why others should visit it.
Financial donations are gratefully accepted, to help defray the
costs of putting-out one of the fastest-growing newsletters
on earth. For more information, send e-mail to <xxltony@cts.com>
with "Donations" in the Subject line.
Mac*Chat back-issues may be found within any Info-Mac ftp archive at
/info-mac/per/chat
and read with any Web browser at
<http://www.ese.ogi.edu/macchat/>
Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter
-------------------------------------
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============== ____ ==================================================
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Mac*Chat Editor \X / <xxltony@cts.com> <http://www.cts.com/~xxltony/>
================= \/ =================================================