Subject: Info-Mac Digest V16 #73 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="Info-Mac-Digest" --Info-Mac-Digest Info-Mac Digest Sat, 28 Mar 98 Volume 16 : Issue 73 Today's Topics: [*] April Fool Applescripts [*] Carousel Goat [*] Codebook 3.0 released!! [*] Disk Charmer 3.1.2; disk erase/copy/verify utility [*] Figurehead [*] Funnel Web 1.6.5 [*] NEW HUBER [*] NEW HUBER [*] Teachers Toolbox Pro FMP [A] SUMMARY: Moving graphic files between PC & MAC 24 Bit Addressing? [A] 24 Bit Addressing? [A] AppleScriptLib [a] Need a Quitter [A] PowerPC disassembler? [A] Re: #68-System 8.1, G3 + Apple RAM Disk [Q] Experience with MS Office 98 [Q] Office 98 help files Font changing-How? Applevision 1710: SNAP, shuts down Cross-Platform Word Processors? Ejectables Encryption How friendly is Aladdin at...? Info-Mac Digest V16 #68 list Problem Norton Utilities and HFS+ Problem with LocalTalk network speech recognition TechTool Pro 2 Thanks to all on the Office 98 experiences 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 . Submissions must be made by the author or with permission of the author. It may take up to a week to process; check mirror sites for the status of new uploads. FTP and Web Addresses and Instructions: * To submit files larger than 800K, email a description to and then use an FTP client to upload the binhexed file to info-mac.org, using the userid "macgifts and the password "macgifts". Or, click . * A full list of Info-Mac mirror sites is available at the URL below: * Search the archive at . Info-Mac volunteers include Gordon Watts, Adam C. Engst, Demitri Muna, Mike O'Bryan, Michael Bean, and Liam Breck. The Info-Mac Digest is sponsored in part by StarNine Technologies, developers of Internet server software for the Macintosh, including Web and email publishing systems. 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 V16 #73" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:16 -0700 From: jcr2@cornell.edu Subject: [*] April Fool Applescripts A set of 13 AppleScript shenanigans. To test, place one in a colleague's StartUp Items folder. The scripts are commented, useful for learning AppleScript. "Beep" beeps the Mac, every minute. "Custom Dialog" asks you for text for a custom dialog, the first time you run it. Thereafter it shows that text, with a beep. To change the text, follow the instructions below to renew a copy of "Go Home Early." "Decisions, Decisions" posts an interesting dialog. Clicking any button just ends the script. "Eject 'Em" ejects all ejectable disks. Repeats every minute. "Finder Finder" makes a copy of the Finder, putting it on the desktop. Repeats every minute. "Finder Windows" sets all open Finder windows to identical small coordinates at the upper left corner of the screen. Repeats every minute. "Get Lotsa Info" opens the Get Info window of every running application. Repeats every minute. "Go Home Early" shuts down the Mac. It expires after three runs (save an unused copy to duplicate, or see instructions below to renew). "Move It" moves a random item from the Finder's front window into the System Folder. Repeats every minute. "New Folder" makes a folder in a random folder at the top level of the startup disk, naming it "Mystery Folder." "Open Up" opens the window of every folder at the top level of the startup disk. Repeats every minute. "Open Trash" closes every Finder window, then opens the Trash window, and makes it very large. Repeats every minute. "Random" posts one of several possible alarming dialogs, with a random number. Repeats every minute. Free. May be included on Info-Mac, AMUG and Umich CD's. John Rethorst [Archived as /info-mac/cfg/april-fool-applescripts.hqx; 100K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:18 -0700 From: dssmith@viaduct.custom.net Subject: [*] Carousel Goat I am submitting some desktop pictures made using Photoshop 4.0.1. All images are original art turned into desktop pictures for MacOS8 (800x600 pixels). The are four desktop pictures 1. The New Huber 2. Oakdowntown 3. Carousel Goat 4. Figurehead Thank you for your time and the service you provide. D.S. Smith dssmith@viaduct.custom.net [Archived as /info-mac/art/grf/carousel-goat.hqx; 199K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:06 -0700 From: robert@torget.se Subject: [*] Codebook 3.0 released!! The Codebook-team announces the release of version 3.0 of the Codebook! 01-02-1998 After about one year in development, and more than half a year since the last version arrived, the Codebook-team has now created the ultimate Macintosh cheat collection, ever! This time it=B4s made as a selfstanding program, which makes it much more user-friendly than the Docmaker versions. He have also added tons of new game cheats, hacks, Easter eggs and more. The Codebook 3.0 is now shareware, and costs 5$ to register. When you register you get rid of an annoying dialogbox, as well as you get subscribed to the Codebook newsletter, with news, links and more neat stuff. The codebook 3.0 will be updated a few times a year, and each time mentioned with the release date after the name of the stuffed archive; i.e. Codebook_3.0_Feb98.sit. If you have any question that cannot be answered by downloading the Codebook application, feel free to ask, and please spread the word around; The codebook 3.0 is finally here!! [Archived as /info-mac/game/codebook-30-feb-98.hqx; 2505K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:10 -0700 From: fabrizio@home.com Subject: [*] Disk Charmer 3.1.2; disk erase/copy/verify utility You don't have to wait for Rhapsody to initialize disks in background... Disk Charmer is a neat utility that lets you conveniently erase and copy disks, and handle disk images in DiskCopy and DiskDup+ format. If you have Mac OS 8.1, you can now use the Mac OS Extended format (a.k.a. HFS Plus) and even set the minimum allocation block size. Disk Charmer lets you create larger disks: you gain 8K on 800K disks, 18K on HD disks, 1.5MB on Zips. At least System 7 is required. Help Balloons are everywhere. Disk Charmer has a nice, modeless interface. It fully supports drag&drop. It supports the handy "Undo" feature we all know and love. Disk Charmer was recently mentioned in MacWEEK: New since version 3.1.1: * Fixed the bug introduced with version 3.1 that prevented the Make disks larger option from working under certain configurations; I actually work around a Mac OS bug (thanks, Masatsugu Nagata and Thomas Mc Neill). -- Fabrizio Oddone Lake Forest, California United States of America mailto:fab@kagi.com http://www.kagi.com/authors/fab/ [Archived as /info-mac/disk/disk-charmer-312.hqx; 155K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:20 -0700 From: dssmith@viaduct.custom.net Subject: [*] Figurehead I am submitting some desktop pictures made using Photoshop 4.0.1. All images are original art turned into desktop pictures for MacOS8 (800x600 pixels). The are four desktop pictures 1. The New Huber 2. Oakdowntown 3. Carousel Goat 4. Figurehead Thank you for your time and the service you provide. D.S. Smith dssmith@viaduct.custom.net [Archived as /info-mac/art/grf/figurehead.hqx; 223K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:15 -0700 From: d.williams@activeconcepts.com.au Subject: [*] Funnel Web 1.6.5 fw165dem.hqx Funnel Web 1.6: Web site profiling and analysis Funnel Web provides detailed statistical analysis and profiling of Web site usage from any Web Server and Operating System. It combines detailed statistical analysis and charting with an intuitive user interface and extensive filtering capabilities. It also takes maximum advantage of extended log reporting available within WebStar, Apache, Netscape and many others for analyzing Referral sites and profiling clients Operating System and Browser. Version 1.6 brings many new features and improvements to Funnel Web. Major new features include: * Full asynchronous DNS lookups with greater than 20 fold speed improvement * Inclusion and Exclusion filtering on both URL and Client * Search Keyword Reporting * Top Entry Page reports * Additional Log file Support for Rumpus FTP server * Improved Memory management for logs over 80MB Special requirements: None. Changes: Additional features and bug fixes added. fw165dem.hqx has replaced fw16demo.hqx ___________________ Dr. Darren Williams CEO Active Concepts - Software with Vision http://www.activeconcepts.com [Archived as /info-mac/comm/inet/web/funnel-web-demo-165.hqx; 1546K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:22 -0700 From: dssmith@viaduct.custom.net Subject: [*] NEW HUBER I am submitting some desktop pictures made using Photoshop 4.0.1. All images are original art turned into desktop pictures for MacOS8 (800x600 pixels). The are four desktop pictures 1. The New Huber 2. Oakdowntown 3. Carousel Goat 4. Figurehead Thank you for your time and the service you provide. D.S. Smith dssmith@viaduct.custom.net [Archived as /info-mac/art/grf/oak-downtown.hqx; 323K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:25:01 -0700 From: dssmith@viaduct.custom.net Subject: [*] NEW HUBER I am submitting some desktop pictures made using Photoshop 4.0.1. All images are original art turned into desktop pictures for MacOS8 (800x600 pixels). The are four desktop pictures 1. The New Huber 2. Oakdowntown 3. Carousel Goat 4. Figurehead Thank you for your time and the service you provide. D.S. Smith dssmith@viaduct.custom.net [Archived as /info-mac/art/grf/new-huber.hqx; 563K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:08:13 -0700 From: dermot@pronet.net.au Subject: [*] Teachers Toolbox Pro FMP At long last a database solution designed by a teacher for teachers. Teachers Toolbox Pro handles all of your student details, excursions, exams, assignments, letters, personal records etc etc. Developed using FMPro 3.0, Teachers Toolbox Pro takes advantage of Filemakers relational capabilities to deliver to you, a powerful solution that is sure to save you time and tension. Make sure you download it today, the interface alone is worth the experience. [Archived as /info-mac/data/teachers-toolbox-pro-fmp.hqx; 1535K] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 08:03:41 -0000 From: "Connelly, Sean" Subject: [A] SUMMARY: Moving graphic files between PC & MAC Dear All, Many thanks for all the replies to my question. The most common suggestion was to try the excellent Graphics Converter shareware program (available from the archive). Several of you said that it had helped you in the past. So I did indeed try it, and I still couldn't read any files ! Then I remembered that one of you suggested that you had a similar problem and traced it back to the original scanned file being corrupted some how. I therefore, tried some other files and they worked fine. I also exported the original file again and this now works ;-) One thing I have noticed is that Illustrator still does not like to place TIFF files until they have been through the Graphics Converter. I think this must be due to Graphics Converter being more robust / less fussy or it resets the file creator code correctly. I also noticed that once the original TIFF file had been saved by Graphics Converter it increased in size by as much as 10 times ! Now, I'm sure they were saved in the same compressed format. Is the size increase because it can now includes a preview of the image, but then to make it 10 times as big ? Strange..... Through this problem I have learnt a lot about how Macs handle files (file type & creator codes, resource forks, etc). I think I will try the FileTyper shareware program that was also mentioned by one of the respondents. I have also tried MacDisk (MSDOS shareware version) which allows me to write to Mac floppy disks on the PC and it seems to create the relevant resource forks, etc. Hopefully, one day (with a bit more experience under my belt) I might be able to return the favor to all of you. Cheers Sean Connelly. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 21:48:01 -0600 From: "Dennis L. Davis" Subject: 24 Bit Addressing? At 10:21 PM -0500 3/20/98, John Dooley Cradock wittily wrote: > I was given an old spreadsheet application called Full Impact, with the > caveat that it only works with 24 Bit Addressing and not 32 Bit, and that > the most recent system software to use with it would be 7.0.0. Well, it > does indeed crash very soon after launch in OS 8.1. Is there anyway to get > this to work? > > John Cradock > No 32 bit addressing is always on in any system from 7.6 on. You might try it on a 7.5.x version with 24 bit addressing on...go to the Memory Control Panel in that version and you should be able to turn 32 bit addressing off and reboot. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. ICQ#5066430 Blessings, Denny ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 13:19:00 +0100 From: Vittorio Barabino Subject: [A] 24 Bit Addressing? John Cradock: >I was given an old spreadsheet application called Full Impact, with the >caveat that it only works with 24 Bit Addressing and not 32 Bit, and that >the most recent system software to use with it would be 7.0.0. Well, it >does indeed crash very soon after launch in OS 8.1. Is there anyway to get >this to work? > -1-I don't know what Mac you use, but if you use an old model (. This program emulates a Mac Plus w/FDHD and 68020. Feel free to ask me help privately if vMac doesn't work. Ciao, Vittorio ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 20:15:52 -0500 From: jrr7@cornell.edu (Jonathan Rynd) Subject: [A] AppleScriptLib If you're getting that error message, it's best to download the whole thing. Applescript is available for download from the website http://applescript.apple.com/ -- "Ethical Relativity: The exact same universal laws are always true, and apply to you no matter what your frame of reference is." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 20:22:08 -0500 From: jrr7@cornell.edu (Jonathan Rynd) Subject: [a] Need a Quitter A good automatic quitter program is Quit-It, still available from the Umich archives. We use it at Cornell and it works great: when you close the last window of an application it puts up a dialog box saying "You really want to quit now, right?" and Yes is the default. 99% of the time, the answer is Yes. Try searching for it at www.shareware.com or www.filez.com I think it is just what you need. -- "Ethical Relativity: The exact same universal laws are always true, and apply to you no matter what your frame of reference is." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 13:19:05 +0100 From: Vittorio Barabino Subject: [A] PowerPC disassembler? Ulf Dittmer: >Is there a shareware/PD disassembler available >for PowerPC code? I looked through the Info-Mac >archive, but didn't find one. Thanks for all hints. Yes, there is PowerFantasm by LightSoft. http://www.tau.it/lightsoft/ Ciao, \+----------+ "La risposta e' dentro di te... Vittorio --| : ) o | ...MA E' SBAGLIATA!!!" /+----------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | - = ( ENCICLOPEDIA DIGITALE DELLA FANTASCIENZA ) = - | | http://www.fantascienza.com/edf/ (con motore di ricerca!) | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 14:37:48 -0500 From: "Jim (James G) Hardwick CPA" Subject: [A] Re: #68-System 8.1, G3 + Apple RAM Disk 98.03.27 1316est Have you checked Apple TILibrary? I vaguely recall something about this on Info Alley. jh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 08:19:54 -0600 From: James Atkinson Subject: [Q] Experience with MS Office 98 We installed Office 98 on the 10 G3s in our lab, and have had the following "issues" crop up: 1. older versions of Office or its components (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) will not read files saved in Office98 format, so users who use 98 at work and an older version at home need to be trained to save their work in the older format---no big deal. 2. Most of the Mac users are not accustomed to the on-the-fly grammar and spelling checkers that Word uses by default, splattering the text with all sorts of squiggly lines and other editorial marks. Since most of our users have good reasons not to follow Strunk and White and/or the latest Webster's dictionary in their written work, we have had to disable this annoying (and usually wrong!) feature--a big deal since each part of the feature seems to be accessible in a different place. A related issue is that Office tries to be smarter than its users and seems always to be moving things around, adjusting page layout without having received a request to do so, etc. 3. some users report that what they see is not what they get...things look good as they type, but when they use Print Preview or Print their text is out of alignment. I have yet to determine if this is a problem with new Word98 files or with files imported/translated by Word or with simple user error (inserting funky invisible codes all over the page). If it's either one of the first two, then this is a Bad Thing. Aside from that, Office98 seems to be an ideological improvement over its bloated predecessor. It's still bloated (uses almost 9MB of RAM for Word alone in some configurations), but it's very fast and seems to be quite stable. Our users are picking it up intuitively...no intensive training needed for general use. Advanced functions are, of course, legion and not always where you would expect them to be, so once we educate ourselves we'll work on educating our users. That help? James Atkinson engja@showme.missouri.edu On 3/23/98 5:08 PM Jim (James G) Hardwick CPA said: > >98.03.23 1806est > >Has anyone installed 98 yet? Care to share experiences, cautions, etc? > >jh > > >------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 14:37:07 -0500 From: "Jim (James G) Hardwick CPA" Subject: [Q] Office 98 help files Font changing-How? 98.03.27 1325est Does anyone know how to change the size of the help window text and/or the font? I love the new (to me, from Word 5.1) ability to magnify the regular screen text in Word as on Excel, but the help files have always been a bit hard on my eyes. I have that over-40 farsightedness that does not fit well with the distance to my monitor, anyway. I looked at the accessibility appendices on p 230 in both the xl & wd manuals, but they do not address the online help files. Thanks again to all who have rpld to my original request for Off 98 info, and in advance for your help here. Comments/rant follow: IMHO, this is one of the better sw upgrades I can recall in my 9 years of using macs, for me surpassing the Pagemaker upgrade that finally enabled opening multiple documents at once. I am pleased to see MS taking a helpful attitude toward resolving the conflicts that have turned up (see www.macintouch.com, thanks, again, Jonathan R). The old "not our problem" attitude seems to have gone away. I am sure I will like 98 even more when I upgrade to OS 8.1 from the current 7.5.5 on my 9500/132. The only distressing thing is the immense speed, memory & storage requirements. These things will not run on my older IIci & SE/30, forget it. I must recant what I said about doc file sizes being reduced. That does not seem to be the case in most of the ones I have now resaved in new format, excel & wd. Some of the 1st ones I resaved must have previously gotten bloated and thus looked good by comparison. All this is ok as long as hdw prices continue to come down/stay down. I have 2 fears--that those prices may escalate & that all this profligate mooching of the increased speed, memory & storage of each new mac generation is leading to sw inefficiency in the long run. This parallels some issues in the environment, etc. "If you build the capability into the new computers, the sw people will waste it". This brings to mind the old Leading Edge word processor I used on my original PC. Light on features by today's stds, but blindingly fast even on that old 4.77 Mhz machine with 2 floppy drives. Just think how fast & compact it would be, interpolated to today's hdw, if not weighted down with all the frills & overhead that have bloomed like algae since then. But I would be choosy in giving up what that has brought us--GUI, etc. All I point to is the excesses and escalations that simply spring up in response to the hdw improvements. The new Office assistant has turned out to be rather helpful, with a good score on how often my good friend Scribbles actually turns up what I need. Smart kitty, kitty. Good thing, since tech support & manuals included are "very different" from the old days. And what happend to spiral binding? Like a good cookbook, it helps to be able to lay it out without a clip, etc. I note that the word-finishing-during-typing thing occurs even in Excel now. I want to allow more time to get used to it b4 I turn it off. Another example of Billy G deciding what's best I suppose. When it starts doing the typing for me ENTIRELY, now that I won't argue with. jh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 21:47:19 +0300 From: "Michael S. Silverstein" Subject: Applevision 1710: SNAP, shuts down My Applevision 1710 monitor has started to do 2 strange things lately, which may, or may not, be connected: 1) Three times over the last month I have heard a loud SNAP and the monitor turns itself off. If I push the power button off and on it comes back to life. 2) Also, starting about a month ago, the monitor displays a coloured '+' whenever I shut-down. Does anyone know what these symptoms mean? Thanks in advance for all your help! Michael Silverstein Materials Engineering Technion ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 22:48:55 -0600 From: "Dennis L. Davis" Subject: Cross-Platform Word Processors? At 4:14 PM -0600 3/23/98, Ted Logan wittily wrote: > I've taken on a new client who has no Macintosh capability but to whom I > need to send document files I have created *and formatted* that he can > print out of his Windows-based PC. He's in a university, so I assume he > has access to all the standard Windows wordprocessing software. Myself, I > use ClarisWorks for the Mac but figure I gotta get something else that runs > in both Macintosh and Windows and can exchange files readily. > > All recommendations gratefully received. > > Ted Logan > Logan Writing, Inc. > tedlogan@busprod.com Three options I can think of use WordPerfect, or Word or Translate your files to what ever would be best for him to use on a PC. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. ICQ#5066430 Blessings, Denny ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 15:07:15 -0600 From: Ted Logan Subject: Ejectables Encryption If you can, please recommend a shareware encryption program that works on ejectables like optical and Zip disks -- preferably compatible with Mac OS 7.5.5 through 8.1. If nothing in shareware, can anyone comment on Norton's encryption software (for Macintosh? not sure). Thanks to all. Ted Logan Logan Writing, Inc. tedlogan@busprod.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 21:57:02 -0600 From: "Dennis L. Davis" Subject: How friendly is Aladdin at...? At 8:34 AM -0500 3/21/98, hazelNut wittily wrote: > ... looking up "lost" serial numbers on registered prods? > > Here's the situation: > 1. I paid the shareware fee on Stuffit Lite, installed it once, registered > it in the app, and lost the envelope the update version disk came in, thus > making it impossible to register even older copies with the sam enumber. > > 2. I bought SpringCleaning as a discount-bee from Mac Warehouse ( I think my > "real" purchase that time was PhotoDeluxe 1.0). As is their wont, MW puts > Aladdin's vital info sticky on a flimsy plastic bag, into which is sealed > the installer disk and warranty info/reg card. Well, I lent the installer > disk and the flimsy bag to my dad, who has taken it everywhere he's gone > with his Mac (3 residences in the last year alone). Got the disk back, but > as we all know the installer requires one to enter a serial or reg# to > proceed. My dad lost that bag. > > Were this not a weekend, I'd call them (Aladdin) directly. I had the same > thing happen _with the PD1.0, and after only a 20min wait, Adobe Cust. > Service was able to give the original reg # over the phone. I know these two > Stuffit apps _are registered, I just need to get the #s somehow. > > Steve Wright I have been a Aladdin customer for years with StuffItDeluxe and then several other products. My experience with them has always been very positive. Call or email them and they should be able to look up what you need. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. ICQ#5066430 Blessings, Denny ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 10:25:45 -0400 From: jopop Subject: Info-Mac Digest V16 #68 Hi Bob I hate all the fax software for the Mac also. The best and easiest that I have used so far is the Apple one that came with system 8. There is both a phone book and fax software (although it took me a couple of weeks to even find it was there on the CD!) If you are thinking of going to Sys 8 anytime soon, hold off on buying any other. John ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 22:29:02 +0000 From: David Rowbory Subject: list Problem >I am having a problem whenviewing the contents of a folder using the "as >list" option. >The list appears in alphabetical order as it should. However, instead of >displaying from A to Z the list is shown from Z to A. >Can any one help. Thankyou Are you running OS8.1? If so, there's a new widget appeared in list view windows on the far right (on same level as the list titles) which looks like a triangle. Click it to reverse sorting order. I love this - just like Claris Emailer and other programs. But that may be the cause of your upsidedownness. d David J. Rowbory Home: 84 Balmuildy Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 3AP United Kingdom Term: Trinity Hall, Cambridge CB2 1TJ U.K. -- mailto:djr36@cam.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 15:26:28 -0600 From: Ted Logan Subject: Norton Utilities and HFS+ My local Mac shop says it will be several month before Norton offers new version of NUM fully compatible with and fully funtional for HFS+-formatted (Macintosh Extended Format) disks. They suggest I use TechToolsPro meanwhile. Does anyone know better when Norton will release its new version of NUM? And what's with TechToolsPro, if you please? Yes, yes, I know I can download TechTools shareware version but I invariably learn more from Info-Mac respondents than I do on my own. Many thanks, as always. Ted Logan Logan Writing, Inc. Cleveland, Oklahoma tedlogan@busprod.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 17:39:26 +0100 From: Mitja Jankovic Subject: Problem with LocalTalk network I have a little network composed by: LC 475 | PB 5300 | (wall about 15m) | PM 8100 | Personal LW NT When the office was empty, I have tested the net (with the LC on one side and the PB on the other), and all seems to work properly. But now, when I'm in the office fuul of all the thing, the network doesn't work. I have used a simple telephon bipolar wire (22 awg). It's the wire who make the problem? TIA Mitja Jankovic ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 22:28:40 +0000 From: David Rowbory Subject: speech recognition > I've seen an IBM comercial this Sunday, with a guy wearing head set and > talking into the microphone and the computer typing what he is saying. > > How much truth is in that advertising? Not sure about IBM, but I have seen DragonDictate (PC) in use and thought a bit slow and a bit error-prone (perhaps 1 error every 20/30 words), it basically works. > Is that a PC only technology? > Is it available on the Mac? > How reliable is it? > How expensive is it to set up? You can get a basic command-only speech recognition free with any PowerMac system software. It's called plaintalk SR. see http://speech.apple.com Version 1.3 allowed you to speak menu items and buttons in dialog boxes, but then Apple removed that feature (though in MacOS8.0 I think you can say OK or Cancel). You can create custom commands using applescript and some applications use it, for example to navigate the web using SR you can get Navigator plugins. I have used PlainTalk SR for a while but not day-to-day. I don't have much need for it. It is nice occasionally getting your Mac to tell you a joke, though (yes it really does that). And interesting to show friends :-) This is not a dictation solution, though. I think there's a prodcut called PowerSecretary which might do what you're interested in although I know very little about it. As far as I know there are only 1 or 2 (literally) products that do this for the Mac, though more may be in development. Apple has solutions for Chinese and other languages being dictated (chinese language kit etc.) but nothing for English it seems. You might want to raise this on the EvangeList: evangelist@apple.com. David ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 13:37:45 -0800 From: John Paul Subject: TechTool Pro 2 Yesterday morning I received my copy of TechTool Pro yesterday and have used it on 13 drives. My experience is with Drives which were first examined and repaired with Disk First Aid and the Norton Disk Doctor. Running TechTool Pro 2 "Standard" mode did discover and repair problems found during "Finder Info" test. However, 6 of the 13 drives examined caused TechTool to report an error in the "File Structures" test. Unfortunately, I ask TechTool to repair the first drive that exibited this problem. Booted from the CD ROM, Techtool FROZE in the middle of a critical file rebuild that irrepairably corrupted the drive. A low level format of the drive, HFS Plus initialization, and file restoration from backup had my user back up in no less than 6 hours. Yak! Needless to say, I did not try and have TechTool try and fix the problem on the other 5 drives that reported this problem. Oddly enough, and this is the kicker, when TechTool was used in "Expert" mode the File Structures problem is not detected. This leads me to wonder... Btw...low level formatting the questionable drives with Drive Setup Lite and initializing with HFS Plus made the problems from the "Standard" mode of examining go away. Another note is that all or most of the 13 drives were low level formated and initialized with FWB 2.5 drivers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 16:32:13 -0500 From: "Jim (James G) Hardwick CPA" Subject: Thanks to all on the Office 98 experiences 98.03.26 1614est I have been overwhelmed by the response to my request for Office 98 install experiences. Some of you have posted them, some sent them privately. Many thanks to each of you! Mac users are special & nowhere is it more true than as shown by their spirit of helpfulness & sharing. I have learned a great deal from your notes and encourage those of you who did not post the nfo to do so. One of the best suggestions I recd was to see the http://www.macfixit.com site for the latest. I commend it to any of you that has not tried it. I had it bkmarkd but had never really looked at it. The upshot of the comments was, with a few cautions, "good show with few problems" from hitherto Macneglectorland, or Microsoft for short. We waited a long time, it better be special, right? I am a bit concerned about the early tendency that Word, particularly, shows toward being a bit too smart. Let me do it, OK, .HAL? BTW, I chose Scribbles the cat as my helper. Meows when I screw up. Gets in my face when he has something to tell me. If I am foolish enough to enable sound I guess he will "talk" to me. jh -------------------------------- --Info-Mac-Digest-- End of Info-Mac Digest ******************************