From: xxltony@cts.com (Tony Lindsey)
Subject: Mac*Chat#094/30-Oct-95
Mac*Chat#094/30-Oct-95
======================
Welcome to Mac*Chat, the weekly electronic newsletter biased
toward Mac users who are production-oriented professionals. Other
Mac users may find many, many items of interest as well. 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.
Tony Lindsey, <xxltony@cts.com>.
<http://www.cts.com/browse/xxltony>
3401-A55 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116-2429
Mac*Chat may be copied freely, provided that all copies are left
intact and unedited.
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/>
See the end of this file for legalisms and info on how to get a free
subscription.
Any [comments in brackets] are by Tony Lindsey.
Topics:
Highlights Of This Issue
Editor's Comments
Correction
Mac*Chat Videotapes - Whattya Think?
Guy Kawasaki's New Venture - Read This And Act Promptly!
Tech Tool 1.08 Is Available Now
Ram Doubler 1.6 Updater
Quicken Free Help Online
Good Web Site For Font Piggies
Publicity For New Web Sites
What I'm Looking For
Consulting Question
Tony's Answer
Technical Section Starts... Here
Tips For America Online Users - Creating Web Pages, Part One
Applescript & Other Scripting Tips
Legalisms
Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter
Highlights Of This Issue
------------------------
I mention my MacWorld Expo plans, ask about hooking the 9500 to
MacTCP or a workable alternative, conduct a simple survey, rave
about the best, new answer to all the Microsoft/Anti-Mac crapola,
rave about the newest TechTool, point out the updater for RAM
Doubler, point where online help can be found for Quicken, Dave
Kramer directs our attention to the Letraset site, I mention a
few great methods for folks who want to promote their new Web
sites, I ask for help creating more articles, a question about
ethics is asked and answered, I explain the step-by-step method
of uploading and downloading some AOL Web pages I created for
tutorial purposes, and we learn of many new resources for folks
who want to learn about AppleScript and other scripting tools.
Editor's Comments
-----------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
I'm going to be at the MACWORLD Expo from January 9-12, 1996,
held at Moscone Center in San Francisco. I've been asking
various folks how to get onto any of the discussions, Q&A and/or
panels.
<http://www.mha.com/macworldexpo>
I'm finally ready to peek my head out of my home-office and meet
the public. I had a small taste of my new-found popularity when
I attended an out-of-town Mac-consultant's dinner recently, and
most of the people there were already subscribed to my newsletter
and knew who I was - A very odd feeling. I had a heck of a time
keeping my head from getting swollen from all the nice things
people were saying!
I'm finally coming to grips with the idea that someone like me
can be up on the dais with my heroes, such as Neil Shapiro, Danny
Goodman, Adam Engst, Guy Kawasaki and the others. They've become
my good friends and peers in the last year, and I can't think of
nicer people. I'd really like to meet them (and many of my
readers) face-to-face!
If you see me at the Expo and say howdy, I promise not to hug you
unless you ask me to! Otherwise, I'm available for hugs any
time. It's a Southern-California thing - I hope you
understand... I'm also up for firm-and-hearty handshakes and
brisk nods, for folks with intimacy issues!
-------
I have a client who has a PowerMac 9500, and he wants to use
either the older MacTCP or Open Transport to access the Internet
through a modem. I've been pulling my hair out trying to make
the connections work - Who has some good tips for me? I'm afraid
to play with it, since I've heard of so many odd bugs.
Correction
----------
By Ryan Soulier <rsoulier@teacherlink.ed.usu.edu>
There was a typo in issue#93 of MacChat:
<http://www-abs.apple.com-acse/>
Should read
<http://www-abs.apple.com/acse/>
[Thanks, Ryan! He added quite a bit of nice things to say about
Mac*Chat, which I deleted for space purposes. I do that a lot,
by the way... I always appreciate the kind words, though.]
Mac*Chat Videotapes - Whattya Think?
------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
I have a special request for my readers...
I'm being asked to make a series of videotapes for the USA (and
elsewhere) that would be a visual version of Mac*Chat. I'd
demonstrate WHY people would want to use various parts of the
Internet and what it can do for them. This would be in the form
of a series, allowing me to show the nicest new stuff out there
as it comes up.
In order for me to attract video-publishers, I need to have some
numbers to throw at them. It's that whole "business pitch" thing.
So, here's the request - If you think you would theoretically
like to buy an inexpensive, hour-and-a-half-long video that is
extremely non-technical and visually-oriented, please send e-mail
to me at <xxltony@cts.com> and put the word "Video" into the
Subject line.
The deadline for this informal survey is November 12, 1995.
**I WILL NOT BE USING THIS FOR JUNK MAIL.** You have my word of
honor. Here's what will happen: The messages will be
automatically shunted into a storage area on my computer. Once
the deadline is past, I'll open the storage area, count the
number of messages and then delete them. I'm hyper-sensitive to
your need for privacy (and entirely too well-known to survive as
a weasel), so please trust me on this.
I'd deeply appreciate your help! It would make it easier for me
to keep Mac*Chat ad-free.
Guy Kawasaki's New Venture - Read This And Act Promptly!
--------------------------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
Here's a top-quality goodie... Pay attention!
A few issues back, in the midst of all the Windows 95
hype-o-rama, I was feeling peevish and put-upon. I felt I was
getting a faceful of Anti-Mac Bigots making fun of me and my
readers just because we prefer Macintoshes.
We now have big-gun ammunition against the people who lack
Mac-courtesy. The backlash has begun!
Guy Kawasaki <kawasaki@eworld.com> is somebody I admire and
trust. He was the main Mac Evangelist who got people excited
about the Mac in the early days. He and Apple parted ways for a
few years, but he never stopped evangelizing. Apple finally got
smart and hired him back. He's now putting out an electronic
newsletter full of Good News For Mac Fans.
Yes, I know you're swamped with more reading-material than you
can handle (me too), but this is the Real Stuff. Do both steps
listed below, right now:
**Step One:**
To subscribe to the MacWay mailing list...
send an email message to
<listproc@abs.apple.com>
include in the body of the message the following text:
SUBSCRIBE MACWAY and enter your real name
---------------------------
The following step is highly recommended, since it prevents you
from being flooded with little messages - It gathers them
together into one LONG message. It requires a separate e-mail
message, though.
**Step Two:**
To turn on DIGEST mode...
send an email message to:
<listproc@abs.apple.com>
include in the body of the message the string:
SET MACWAY MAIL DIGEST
----------------------------
Later on, if you wish to unsubscribe from the list...
send an email message to:
<listproc@abs.apple.com>
include in the body of the message the string:
UNSUBSCRIBE MACWAY
--------
Incidentally, I'm a fan of Guy's books (warm, friendly and
enthusiastic), and I would normally tell you about a great book
deal he's offering, but I'm not comfortable putting ads inside of
Mac*Chat... If you wish to know more, here's the contact info:
<SchwartzBB@aol.com>
<800-236-7323/800-231-7323 fax, 414-274-6406/414-274-6408 fax>
<http://www.webcom.com/~fugitive/macway/testdriv.htm>
Tech Tool 1.08 Is Available Now
-------------------------------
By Ken Workman <sbken@cruzio.com>
An update on _TechTool_ just came to my attention. It appears to
have some very good additions to the
1.0.6 version.
[Thanks, Ken - I found it at
</info-mac/cfg/tech-tool-108.hqx>
and I found it to be a VERY juicy and worthwhile update to an
essential (and FREE) power-tool... In addition to the other two
main functions of the older version (properly rebuilding the
Desktop, zapping the Parameter RAM), it now contains a button
called System Analyzer. It checks to see if your system file is
damaged, and it works with US and International versions of the
System. VERY nice for anyone who has endured the agony of
"hammering in the dark" to try and nail down a nasty problem.]
Ram Doubler 1.6 Updater
-----------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
I found the newest updater for RAM Doubler at
<http://www.pcworld.com/connectix/rdchoice.html>
and, while you're in that neighborhood, you'll find info and
updates for the QuickCam and Speed Doubler as well.
The new version of RAM Doubler works with the newest Macs, and
removes known bugs. Personally, I'd MUCH rather have real RAM
chips, but this is a good second-best!
Quicken Free Help Online
------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
There is quite a bit of free help for Quicken users on the World
Wide Web at:
<http://www.intuit.com/quicken/technical-support/quicken/index.html>
This is available for anyone who has Web access.
Good Web Site For Font Piggies
------------------------------
By Dave Kramer <reeltime@omni.voicenet.com>
<http://www.voicenet.com/~reeltime/>
Letraset, the font and graphics company (which, incidentally,
gives a great user group demo!), has a fantastic Web site at
<http://www.letraset.com/letraset/>
One of their incentives to get you to browse their online font
catalog is a monthly treasure hunt. If you've got a good eye and
can match the font they put on display, you can download it for
free!! (Alternately, you can click on every font in their catalog
until you find it... ;)
Also, they have their Character Choose DA available for free
download, and you can see samples of their textures collection,
many of which would make tasty backgrounds for a
Netscape-enhanced Web site.
Publicity For New Web Sites
---------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
Once you have created a Web site that is acceptable to the
general public, you may want lots of people stopping by. These
are a few good places to visit to help you get the word out - I
suggest you visit them ALL:
<http://www.tiac.net/users/samizdat/public.html>
<http://www.submit-it.com/>
<http://www.yahoo.com/>
<http://wwwac.org/WebAnnounce/>
And, of course - Add the Web site URL and your e-mail address to
your business card and flyers!
What I'm Looking For
--------------------
By tamye@nkn.net (Tamye Riggs)
Great job on the newsletter. I really enjoy it, and I usually
find at least one item that really helps or interests me. Keep up
the good work. If you are looking for submissions, tell me what
type of articles you're looking for and I would be happy to make
an attempt to contribute. As an editor of many newsletters and
magazines, I know how tough it can be to get good submissions,
and on time! But you seem to be doing a great job, and if there
is something I can contribute to the cause, I will gladly do it!
[Thanks, Tamye - Here's my ideal...
I'm thrilled by thoughtful, intelligent reviews of software,
hardware or whatever from a subjective standpoint. I let the
industry magazines be objective - I want to know what it FEELS
like to be living with something every day. I want to know why I
should delegate any of my precious time-slices to this e-mail
program, that font utility or that new Web site. I also like
such reviews to be around 500 words at most.
When I go to a friend's place and hear that they are using a new
and wonderful utility, modem, cartridge drive or program, I don't
want to look at a manual, I want to see it in action. I want to
get a feel for what it could do for me and my clients. I want to
know that it's being recommended by somebody who doesn't have a
secret agenda for promoting it. When you write words about
something that pleases you, make me care about it. Get me
interested enough to ask around and find out more.
If I got my wish, I'd get stuff like this every day, from ALL of
my wisest readers. It would sure ease my work-load!]
Consulting Question
-------------------
By mcohen@nku.edu (Matthew I. Cohen) <http://www.nku.edu/~mcohen/>
I am a mac professional myself - I manage the student labs at a
local university, and I also do part-time mac consulting on the
side.
Usually, my clients are of the "on-switch 101" variety - new
systems, new software, etc, and they just need some hand-holding.
But my latest client has a pretty up-to-date system, and just
purchased a 7500/100 to be a workstation, an ARA Fileserver, and
a 24 fax server (receive and auto-print incoming faxes).
Because of the system 7.5.2 conflicts and the general buggyness
of fax software, we have been having some problems. I just spent
3 hours on this system, and there has not been any net change
from when I arrived and when I left. I ran all the disk fixes,
installed updated extensions, etc, but nothing fixed his problem.
I will be contacting tech support for the various software
programs, and I'll be returning to implement their suggestions
(if any) at a later time. My question is this: Do I charge him
for this session? I did work hard for 3 hours, but usually my
maxim is no charge if I don't fix it. This is a long-term
client, who I will not lose either way, but I'm curious what you
would do in such a situation.
Tony's Answer
-------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
Personally, my policy is "I never punish the client for the
problem." I don't bill the client at all until the job is done.
If it's not done, I don't get paid. Painful, aggravating and
costly, but honest. I make up for the lack of money by making
sure I get the karmic payback - I tell the client WHY I'm not
charging them. I have never, ever seen a client who didn't like
to hear it. Believe me, referrals come from such honesty, and
even if they don't come from THIS situation, I like to tell
prospective clients of my policy and give them examples. Make
hay from it, even if you don't make money. Consider it tuition
for your education. I hate doing losing money on an unfinished
job, but I sleep better.
If I'm able to eventually fix the problem (even if it's months
later, like when Apple releases a simple fix) I may adjust my
later billing on a subsequent session to account for time spent
_productively_, after asking permission to do so.
Technical Section Starts... Here
--------------------------------
Tips For America Online Users - Creating Web Pages, Part One
------------------------------------------------------------
By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>
Well, this has been a heckuva project, taking me many days. I've
been working like a beaver, setting-up easy-to-copy-and-improve
Web pages for my readers who are using America Online:
<http://users.aol.com/xxltony/>
Just as I get close to finishing, I find out that America Online
is now promoting something called "NaviPress" as its new
Mac-compatible Web-page designer. To try your own copy, sign
onto AOL and go to keyword "navisoft". I wasn't able to test it
(I'm way over deadline already) but I should warn you - re-start
with the shift-key down (to turn off extensions) BEFORE you try
to install it. I may discuss it in a future issue.
For the short term, I'm going to start posting what I have
written already. It may work better for you.
----------
If you are a bright, inquisitive type who is good at figuring out
how things work, you may want to copy what I've done, modify it
to match your own needs, and then upload your OWN Web pages.
I've listed the steps below.
------
First, create a folder called "Web Page Project" and store it on
the Desktop so you can find it later on.
Now, let's go copy what Uncle Tony created:
-------
Here's how I inspect the contents of my own, private,
2-megabyte-limit storage space on AOL:
I sign onto AOL, then go to Internet Connection/FTP/Member
FTPspace and read what it says. Then go back one level to FTP,
then to Go To FTP/Other Site, then type in
"ftp://users.aol.com/xxltony/"
Go ahead and do those steps. Download each of the files you find
in the /xxltony directory into the "Web Page Project" folder. I
created them so you'd be able to figure-out what I did. The text
files ending with ".html" can be opened in any text editor (such
as TeachText or your word processor) and modified. The GIF
images are a nice bonus, showing me at home.
------
Comparing the coded text and the final result:
Open the text files and have them available so you can compare
them to their final appearance on the Web:
Start up AOL 2.6 or later, go to the Internet Connection, then to
World Wide Web. At the top of the browser page, you'll see the
field called "Current URL:"
Type in
http://users.aol.com/xxltony/
and then hit Return.
That brings you to my Web Page. You'll want to save that
location in your Hot List for later. Pull down the Services
menu, choose "Add to Main Hot List" and choose "Save" under the
File menu. Later on, if you want to get back there, pull down
the Services menu, choose "Hot List/Main Hot List" and
double-click on my page.
----
Flip back and forth between the text files and my pages. See how
simple it would be to make changes to the text and create your
OWN, simple variation. There is no way you can harm anything by
trying, so why not give it a shot? (Just don't forget to save
your files as text only).
If you did create new variations for your own uses, you would
need to upload them into your own directory. Here's how to do it:
-------
If your screen name is "chuckie23" then sign onto AOL, then go to
Internet Connection/FTP/Go To FTP/Other Site, then type in
"ftp://users.aol.com/chuckie23/"
Flip over to the Finder and click on the file you want to upload
(such as a plain-text file called index.html), and choose "Copy"
under the Edit menu. This copies the file's name so you don't
mis-type it.
Go back to AOL and click "Upload." Paste the file's name into
the entry field. Down below, you're given three choices. If
it's a text ".html" file, select the "ASCII/Text" choice, and
then click the Continue/OK/Add buttons. ONLY add the ONE
"index.html" file and then click "Attach."
That uploads the file. If you are uploading another file, such
as a graphic file stored in GIF format, you would have uploaded
it as a Binary file, and added it all by itself.
Those are the only two choices I use, personally.
To snoop into chuckie23's Web page, you would go check out the
following URL:
<http://users.aol.com/chuckie23/>
Next issue: Part Two!
Applescript & Other Scripting Tips
----------------------------------
[In issue #93, I asked:
What are the other recommended books and tutorials, very best
utilities, add-ons and Internet sites for AppleScript fans and
students?]
------
By Kyle Johnson <pkscout@acpub.duke.edu>
<http://www.duke.edu/~pkscout/>
Check out ScriptWeb:
<http://www.scriptweb.com/scriptweb>
They have taken over the maintenance of the Scripting site from
the University of Kansas. There is information on how to
subscribe to the Mac-Scripting list (which includes AppleScript,
Frontier, MacPerl, etc) along with the digest of the mailing
list. They are also maintaining the FTP site at:
<ftp://gaea.scriptweb.com/pub>
This site contains various support files, demos, scripts, etc.
for most of the major scripting languages.
------
By George H Dick <napoleon@teleport.com>
<http://www.teleport.com/~napoleon>
Check out Dave Winer Frontier/Aretha environment! It's wonderful
& free. You can write in AppleScript or Dave's Usertalk
language....
<http://www.hotwired.com/staff/userland/aretha/>
-----
By Paul L. Suh <plsuh@econ.sas.upenn.edu>
The place for questions is definitely the MacScript mailing list.
Beware that this is a very high bandwidth list, with about 500
people. However, there are some extremely knowledgeable people
on the list (such as Jon Pugh, one of the original developers of
AppleScript), and if they can't answer it, no one can. [See
below for subscription instructions]
There is a CFD (call for discussion) floating around on the
various Usenet comp.sys.mac.programmer.* groups towards a new
group, comp.sys.mac.programmer.scripting or some such, but
there's not much going on so far. On Usenet, the places to ask
questions seem to be comp.sys.mac.programmer.help and
comp.sys.mac.programmer.misc.
There's an official FAQ for AppleScript, but parts of it are out
of date. It's in the process of being revised, bit by bit.
<ftp://gaea.scriptweb.com/pub/applescript/00applescript.faq>
There's an supposed to be an html version on the way, but it
doesn't seem to be there just yet.
-------
By Paul Schinder <schinder@pjstoaster.pg.md.us>
The authoritative books are:
"AppleScript Language Guide", Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-40735-3
"AppleScript Finder Guide", Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-40910-0
and there's one on the Apple OSAX, but I balked at wasting any
more money on Applescript. Another Applescript resource everyone
interested in the language should be away of is the MacScripting
mailing list (send mail to listserv@listserv.dartmouth.edu with
the body line "subscribe macscrpt your name here"), and Apple's
applescript-users list has recently shown some signs of life
after a long period of dormancy (I don't remember this one for
sure, but I believe you send mail to listproc@abs.apple.com with
subscribe applescript-users in the body)
But I can't join in your paean to Applescript. It's absolutely
the worst, most frustrating language I've ever learned (and I've
learned many). Its failings, IMHO, are these: 1) only four built
in commands. All the rest is done by OSAX and applications, and
they sometimes don't work as documented in their Applescript
dictionaries. 2) Applescript works by sending Apple events.
*Never* expect one statement in an Applescript to "finish" before
the next is executed. For example, Jon Pugh, one of Apple
script's founders, sent a simple script to the MacScripting list
to move the desktop database files of all mounted volumes to the
trash and tell the Finder to restart (the best way to rebuild the
desktop). I'm sure it works on his machine, but on mine, the
Finder does the restart before it gets around to removing the
files from my Zip drive. That kind of thing is common. And
Applescript is s..l..o..w.
For my serious scripting needs, I use MacPerl. I see Applescript
as a bludgeon, and MacPerl as a scalpel. There are some jobs a
bludgeon can do. I, for example, have AppleScripts to start up
PPP and launch my usual TCP/IP apps, I have a script that creates
custom icons and previews with JPEGview for all new files in
chosen folders. But for my other needs, where I need a language
that will work as a programming language should and will work as
documented, I use MacPerl. MacPerl takes care of all of my
mirroring (I have folders/directories on my Mac and Sun
workstation that I keep in sync with Perl scripts on both ends),
my Web mirroring needs (I run a script that mirrors a list of
URL's locally), and even my downloading. I spend a lot of time
off line, and often find URL's that I'd like to see (for example,
when reading Mac*Chat). I cut them onto the clipboard, run a
script which appends them to a file, and later, when I'm on line,
drop the file onto a MacPerl droplet. MacPerl grabs all of the
URL's it can (the script can do http:, gopher:, and ftp:) and
does appropriate transformations to what it grabs so I can
view/use whatever it is later, either on or off line. Instead of
a slow Applescript driving the usual TCP/IP apps, one application
does the whole job at acceptable speed. There are things that
MacPerl can't do, of course (almost anything having to do with
resource forks), and that's why I still use Applescript.
One other thing people who have scripting jobs to get done on
their Mac should be aware of is Frontier/Aretha, which has just
recently been released as freeware by Dave Winer. The URL is
<http://www.hotwired.com/staff/userland/aretha/>. I have had
little time to play with it, but it seems like a far better
designed (read: more like a real programming language), more
feature filled language that can do anything Applescript can do.
I only wish it had been freeware when I first decided to learn
Applescript, because I think I would have been much happier with
Frontier.
-------
By David E. Moore <moordi@ucbeh.san.uc.edu>
AppleScript is something we've needed from day one. OK, that's
not true. On day one we needed to learn how to use the mouse.
But very shortly after that, (well, shortly after we had
something more than MacWrite and MacDraw to work with) most of us
wanted something like a batch programming language to automate
things. Those of us who've been around computers long enough to
know just how revolutionary the Mac was (is?), also know that
keyboards and batch programming are not evil things. Now that
the rest of the world has discovered that the mouse and graphical
representation/organization of data are not evil things, it's
good to see that Apple has finally provided a simple means to
overcome what was once an inherent weakness of the Mac.
Legalisms
---------
Copyright 1989-1995 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.
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.
Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter
-------------------------------------
You may subscribe to Mac*Chat by sending e-mail to:
<listserv@vm.temple.edu>
The Subject line is ignored, so it can say anything.
In the body of the message include the following line:
SUBSCRIBE MACCHAT Your full name
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============== ____ ==================================================
Tony Lindsey \ _/__ Free, weekly e-mailed Mac-oriented newsletter
Mac*Chat Editor \X / <xxltony@cts.com> <http://www.cts.com/~xxltony/>
================= \/ =================================================