From: (Tony Lindsey) xxltony@cts.com Subject: Mac*Chat#112/14-Jun-96 Mac*Chat#112/14-Jun-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. Any [comments in brackets] are by Tony Lindsey. Highlights Of This Issue ------------------------ I mention my new web-page address, ask for the best current way to manage hotlists without breaking stride, readers alert us to good places to shop for disks, search for Mac-related vendors, and review the Apple StyleWriter 2500 (VERY positively). We also find out how Open Transport was tamed on my Mac, and the various Chat programs that are available. Topics: Highlights Of This Issue Editor's Notes What's The Best Web-Browser Hotlist Manager? Zip Disks, Etc. Tracking Down Vendor Information Online Inexpensive Color Printers - Apple Color Stylewriter 2500 Technical Section Starts... Here Open Transport - Triumphant At Last, With Help From My Friends Chatting Programs Legalisms Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter Editor's Notes -------------- By Tony Lindsey I've officially moved my website (saving about $180 a year) - The new URL is It's a bit trimmed-down, but still pretty similar to the old site. I haven't had a lot of time for massive changes (yet). One project at a time. ------ The next issue is going to be heavily dedicated to Mac*Chat Readers' Favorite Utilities - I've got scads of 'em that I haven't had room for in previous issues. ------ What's a good source for computer-consultant-specific hardware repair kits? I'm trying to find a Torx T-8 screwdriver, and I may as well get a good toolkit while I'm at it. My Powerbook 520's keyboard is torqued-down so hard that I have to practically whack it with a ball-peen hammer to do any typing. The two screws underneath will allow me to adjust it. ------ I get hundreds and hundreds of messages in my mailbox every week, and around 90% of them include some variation of the following message at the beginning or end: ---- By: tomburns@execpc.com Thank-You for doing MacChat, I look forward to each edition every week! I Love MacChat. ---- You're very welcome! I dearly love to do it, truthfully. It's a lot overwhelming sometimes, but I really feel like I'm where I belong. It suits my nature. Thanks to everybody who sends me such kind words. What's The Best Web-Browser Hotlist Manager? -------------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey I've heard of all sorts of programs out there to handle hot-lists, but here's what _I_ want: I want to be in my web-browser, cruising around and being inquisitive. Ooh - I see something I'd like to come back to later on. Zap - I grab the URL for my hot-list. Boink - I drag the newest site's name to its proper place in a hierarchical outline format. I want it that fast, and that easy. Ooh-Zap-Boink. With my short attention-span, I want to organize things while the concept is fresh. I hear Apple's Cyberdog is going to be particularly fine for this purpose - what's the current status on that? How do I get my hands on an early version? Zip Disks, Etc. --------------- [In issue #111, I asked if anybody knew of any good deals on Zip drive disks...] ------ By: hondaman@pop.loop.com (David P. Honda) The LLB Company sells a 10 pack of Zip cartridges for $139 (that's $13.90 per cartridge), as advertised in MacWeek 6/3/96. There is no surcharge for using a credit card, they wil ship overnight (probably for $7), and our sales rep, Steve Jameison, has given us consistently good service. LLB 13228 NE 20th St., Suite B Bellevue, WA 98005 (800) 848-8967 FAX (206) 746-5168 Electronic orders: <73423.1272@Compuserve.com> ------ By: "John C. Ranney" About two months ago I got 10 ZIP Disks, MAC format, for $116 shipped. the place was Micro Center 474 Bethel Rd. Columbus, OH 43214 No 800 number - <614/326-8535> A nice color newspaper ad came with the order. They have a lot of specials listed, including CDs that work on the Mac. This seems to be a computer super store, but they do mail order. ------ By: Michael Rohde I have found a great source called Optical Express out of Minneapolis: Optical Express 109 East Myrtle Street Stillwater, MN 55082 (800) 844-3475 Fax: (612) 439-7390 I usually talk to Tom Murphy, though anyone there is very helpful. Also, they have great pricing on Magneto-Opticals and DAT tapes as well: 128MB Phillips brand MO's $12 each Unformatted, $13 Mac-Formatted 230MB Phillips brand MO's $16 each. Mac-Formatted 100MB Zip Disks $14.95 each 90M Phillips Dats $6.50 each Sony DAT Cleaner Tapes $12.50 each Prices do not include shipping, International orders welcome. And they have great service! Tracking Down Vendor Information Online --------------------------------------- [In issue #111, I asked for help in tracking-down companies that make or sell goodies for the Mac. I received many tips from readers...] ------ By: Leslie Parsons Rather than go through all the effort of more electronic paperwork sending various questions off to others and collating the answers and keeping track of same for future issues, you may find it simpler to just use good ol' AOL. Command-K-REDGATE or Command-K-NPS both bring up the "New Product Showcase" area. One of the nifty features of this cross-platform area is that it contains a searchable database from the Redgate Product Information Service. [Redgate was one of the features of eWorld that I *really* missed; when I saw your request above I just logged onto AOL and tried keyword:redgate on a whim. Son of a gun, it worked!] You can search by vendor or by product. ------ By: I have a sprawling Netscape bookmarks file that includes a link to which has a index card database of vendor info with phone, fax, Web page URL, etc. Sometimes connection to the site is balky. I suppose I could Whack it (WebWhacker from ForeFront Group at The site presents a LONG alphabetical index. Each entry links to a Web page (index card) for each company on the macfaq site. You can then click on the URL for the company's Web page. Here are the URLs I use: ------ By: "Gene W. Hsu" Right now, the WWW page that I visit to figure out contact info is It's pretty complete, as far as I can see. ------ By: Kyle Johnson Check out the ZD Tech Locator at: ------ By: MKinsman@pepperdine.edu (Michael Kinsman) Try [I wish I had room to share the great examples Michael and Leslie included - Great stuff!] Inexpensive Color Printers - Apple Color Stylewriter 2500 --------------------------------------------------------- [I've heard a lot of praise for this printer. It looks like a winner!] ------ By: Mark Alan Cirino I was reading in MacChat today about your problems with an Epson color printer. While I love my Epson scanner, I opted not to buy an Epson printer after hearing several of my friends complain about them. I waited until Apple released the Color StyleWriter 2500, and I'm very glad I did. The 2500 is a joy to own. I've set up a few Epsons and several StyleWriter 2400's for other people, but the 2500 wins my recommendation hands down. First, it's very, very fast. I ran a test with a PhotoShop file on an Epson Stylus II and the 2500, from the same PowerMac 7500. The results looked just about exactly the same, but the Epson took 53 minutes to the StyleWriter's 5 minutes to print the page. Although the Epson's output is 720 x 720 dpi, compared to the StyleWriter's 720 x 360 output, on coated paper, it's hard to tell the difference. The biggest complaint I've heard about Epson printers is the driver. They seem to be constantly updating and changing the driver and with every new System software update, their driver becomes obsolete. With the StyleWriter, I know that I'm going to get a brand new compatible driver every time Apple updates the System - and it's free! You can also buy either an AppleTalk or EtherTalk option for the StyleWriter so it can be networked, and there's a CD with a locked copy of StyleScript (PostScript RIP) in the box - just call the 800 number, give them your credit card and $99 later, you're printing those Illustrator files like a pro. The coolest thing about the 2500, though, is its energy efficiency. The printer stays off until you click the Print button. When you do, the printer turns itself on and immediately begins printing. After 5 minutes of inactivity, it turns itself off again. The uncoolest thing is the expense of the ink cartridges. Studies have shown the Epson printers to be the most miserly with ink, making them more affordable to operate. However, I've found that generic cartridges from NuKote, made for the Canon BubbleJet printers, work just fine and cost about 1/3 less than the Apple or Canon brands. I got my NuKote cartridges at Office Depot. Apparently, they also carry some decent inkjet printer paper. ------ By: philshap@aol.com (Phil Shapiro) My wife, who is a freelance graphic designer, recently got an Apple StyleWriter 2500 for $379 at MicroWarehouse <800-367-7080/908-367-3786> She also got GDT's StyleScript, which comes on a locked CD-ROM included with the printer ($99 to unlock it). StyleScript is a licensed Adobe Postscript level 2 interpreter and it does the job well, although it does eat up a bit of memory (5 Megs by default, the manual recommends giving it 8 or so). She's used it to print from Quark, Illustrator, and Photoshop with very good results. The StyleScript driver installs a printer driver (in addition to a "server" application), so it appears in the Chooser like it's another printer. It's actually kind of nice since it looks and works the same as the Apple LaserWriter 8 page setup/print user interface. If you want to print to the 2500 without the postscript driver, you just select the original 2500 driver in the Chooser. The quality itself is pretty good, but I guess that's a subjective thing. I just read a review of it on MacWorld's web site [From the July 1996 issue] that was pretty positive. ----- By: Johann Beda I'm very pleased with my Color StyleWriter 2500 (about $400) which ended up costing us essentially nothing since we used some credit that we had built up with CitiBank's Apple CitiBank Visa (I think they also have a MasterCard) The credit card has no annual fee and gives 5% of all purchases as credit towards Apple hard/software purchases. (Actually you have to send them a receipt and they then credit your account after you have made the purchase.) CitiBank cards can also have cute photo's of the cardholder to help prevent unauthorized use. The Apple credit is limited to $500 per year, and it expires after three years, so it isn't as good as it could be, but hey, it just got us a cool printer, and I expect it to underwrite part of a new CPU in a year or two. Anyhow, the back of my card gives a phone number of (800)-950-5114 as customer service. -------- By: Aaron Lynch I just returned my Epson Color Stylus II, because it was garbage. It jammed on every third sheet, the driver went corrupt 3 times a week, and it conflicted with everything. And Epson was not helpful at all. I got an Apple Color Stylewriter 2500. My only gripe is that I only got about 60 pages out of the Color & Black cartridge! I bought the bigger High performance cartridge and so far it's printed 200+ sheets without any jams or hangs. FYI the Canon BC-20 cartridge is the same as the Apple, and it's way easier to find ;) Technical Section Starts... Here -------------------------------- Open Transport - Triumphant At Last, With Help From My Friends -------------------------------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey As of this morning, My Powerbook 520 is fully-functioning with Open Transport and System 7.5.3. I can now have my computer dial up to the Internet, do stuff quickly, sign off and then sign on again later. I am deeply satisfied, but it's been a hell of a week or two... When I asked for help on the matter in issue #111, I had no idea that so many Faithful Readers wanted to help Uncle Tony! I received 736 messages in seven days, filled with REALLY helpful hints and plenty of attached files. I've done a lot of thinking on the topic, and I can boil my final advice down to a few, simple points for other folks who are in Open Transport Hell: - Be NICE to your local Service Provider support-staff. They want to help you. - If they recommend a particular set of extensions and control panels and forbid others, follow their advice. - Don't mess with their heads by loading new, fancy stuff they've never heard of (example: I loaded FreePPP 2.5rf, when 1.05 works like a champ, and it's what my ISP techs know inside and out). I want to thank every single person who flew to my aid when I needed it, and I have special thanks for Beatriz at CTSnet in San Diego, Anne-Marie Concepcion in Chicago, Arnaud Zuber in Switzerland, Sergei Komarov in Moscow, and especially Bill Stanford in Australia: ------- By: Bill Stanford I find myself setting OT 1.1 up on a lot of PowerBooks these days, both the 500's and 5300's, and we don't have to reboot to maintain the OT drivers; though we sometimes have to reboot, every few days (!), to get the System Heap overhead (the "memory leak") caused by OT under control. But I think the core of the advice you'll get should look like this: *Don't be content with a "clean install" by whatever method. Start by having all data backed up, and format your 520's HD with a 7.5.3 compliant utility like FWB's Hard Disk Toolkit v.1.8s. *For the 520, install System 7.5.0 from a known good set of installer disks. Don't use ShrinkWrap or Drop*Disk to mount disk image files; but do use an external drive like a Syquest to install from folders made by copying over the installer FD's. When the install is finished, delete all extensions and CP's not relevant to the PB520 (you know, things like Serial Switcher, Brightness, etc). *At this time delete MacTCP 2.0.4 which gets installed with the Networking Software option - I always use a Custom install - you don't want the Update 2 installer to see that in your system. Don't boot off your PB520's HD by the way, run all this from a CD or from an external HD system. (I run on Disk Tools from the 7.5 installer set, it's a bit slower but it saves sacrificing a black goat along the way here;-) *Now do a similar install for the Update 2 set. Don't select "Classic Networking." You can therefore trash the Network Software Selector when you've finished, while doing a second cleanup to check your CP folder and your Extensions folder. *Load your applications back (from top copies), and your data. Resist doubtful 3rd party extensions which make your Mac look like a NeXT;-) In fact, resist 3rd party extensions. Personally I'm using only the 4 key things from Now Utilities 5.0.2, PopChar, Capture (now Captivate), and the Wacom tablet driver... [The following section is where Bill and I diverge in our opinions - My techs are more-familiar with the older FreePPP (and I have no energy left to debate with 'em), and I prefer TechTool for rebuilding the desktop and zapping the PRAM:] *Use FreePPP 2.5rf, and grab 2.5.1 when it appears in a few days from this writing. *Now you should rebuild the PB hard disk's Desktop files - I use a Finder Bits editor to make these visible at this point, and trash both Desktop files manually. Reboot on your external system, zapping the PRAM with Command-Option-P-R as you do so, and wait for the desktop to rebuild. Now you can boot off your new 7.5.3 HD system. Yes, this is being very careful, but OT1.1 is still a bit buggy, as you know. But nobody I know who has used OT for a few days would go back to MacTCP, even with the occasional problem. I know this is the "replace the logic board" version of system install... I'd call it doing a "Very Clean Install"! [This worked well for me, except now I'm laboriously rebuilding my System folder and aliases - I'm also digging through several feet of desk-clutter to find my original Datebook Pro diskette, since that program has now forgotten that I own it, because I re-formatted my hard-drive. I can't get at my appointment calendar, and my clients are getting cranky! Time to call for support, I guess. Thanks again to all of the great folks who sent me Open Transport tips.] Chatting Programs ----------------- [In issue #111, Joe Naff asked about programs that allowed people to chat directly with each other over the Internet. I noticed a certain pattern in the responses - people felt very strongly about their preferences - I suspect that it all depends on whether you're logical or visual in your thinking.] ----- By: Frank English You might want to try Global Chat by Quarterdeck Corporation Its available for FREE download from their web page. It was designed for their servers but supports all IRC servers. Very simple to use. I run a user group chat for the Hershey Apple Core We picked it because of its ease of use. Homer was a little buggy and hard to get set up when you just get started. Global chat also works as a netscape helper so you can just click on a chat to go to it. If you're looking for a reasonable, sane server to talk on (on some servers there is more fighting than talking...) try They also have a web page at which will give you everything you wanted to know about all of their chats... ------ By: Daryl Forrest Here are URLs for two more (in addition to Homer): ircle at GlobalChat at I much prefer ircle over the buggy, but feature-rich Homer and the buggy and feature-poor GlobalChat. You might want to give ircle a try! ------ By: ga.peach@mindspring.com (ga-peach) In the last issue of Mac*Chat (#111) you were discussing the best chat programs for IRC. You mentioned you were all set to try Homer. If you haven't tried it....don't bother!!!!!! Instead save yourself a lot of time and download the latest version of ircle. Give it a whirl and you will quickly see it is the best program by far! And if I may, I would like to tell you a few things I really like about the program. First off....it has a very small footprint! Homer is a "pretty" program but it eats up the RAM! Now that in and of itself is important but there's more! ircle is much more powerful. One of the greatest ways to chat is directly to another person through a DCC Chat connection (Direct Computer to Computer). By using a DCC Chat connection you are able to side-step the IRC problems such as lag and splits. And as a channel operator in a channel with a bot you are able to communicate with the bot and the other operators without being in the channel. Homer does not, nor will it ever support DCC Chat. Private messages are a nice little extra in a chat program. It is like whispering in someone's ear. No one else is able to hear/see your words except the person to whom they are directed. With ircle you are able to open a "query" window in the nick of the person to whom you want to whisper and from that point forward (during your session) you only have to have that window active to send a message directly to your intended. You are also able to log these private messages. In Homer your private messages are displayed in the same window as your channel chat. You are not able to log these as a separate file and it is extremely difficult and time consuming to try to pick out these private messages from pages and pages of public logs if you wish to review a private conversation after you log off. The developer of ircle is working constantly to improve his program. He is currently experimenting with the ability to write scripts into your program much like the program mirc for Windows. This will make ircle equal with mirc and just as powerful. Scripts are an important part of maintaining a channel and without them you are much less effective at protecting your channel from hackers. Now, you say, "But Homer may include these extras down the road." WRONG!!! The developer of Homer has since graduated from college and went on to bigger and better things. There is no support with Homer, no plans for the future, it is a dead end program. ircle will continue to improve and Homer will fall farther and farther behind. Since there isn't anything Homer can do better than ircle (other than a bit of eye candy) why not just learn to use chat on a program which is only going to continue to improve! Download it and see the difference!! (I even paid to register it....I liked it that much!!!!) :-) ------ By: J.A.Staplehurst@exeter.ac.uk (John Staplehurst, University of Exeter, UK) While I am no IRC expert, I have looked around at what is available for the Mac, and produced a guide for the novice user located at: which should point people in the right direction. It covers the three clients I am aware of for the Mac: Homer, ircle and MacIRC. They are all shareware products for an average fee of $20, and require System 7. and MacTCP (or perhaps OT?), as well as your ISP running an Identd Daemon (otherwise IRC will not be available at all) ------ By: markb@ccnet.com (Mark Brautigam) I found Homer difficult to set up, and it crashed on me several times. In contrast, Ircle was much smaller, comes with a lot less documentation, but was easier to set up and understand, and never has crashed on me. I only chat with people I know. I'm on several mailing lists that have regularly scheduled chats. Wandering around from chat to chat without knowing what's available, when there are thousands of chats to choose from, can be frustrating and time consuming. I don't advise it. BTW, I hear the upcoming version of AOL (3.0) will allow IRC and other new capabilities. It is supposed to be released in September. ------ By: Martha Pritchard Internet is a new thing at work and somehow I have become the resident expert (not that I see myself as one). Lately, one of my bosses has had an interest in IRC. He tried Homer and even Ircle, but when I finally got him around to trying Global Chat, he said it was much easier (actually said there was nothing to it). It "expires" every so often, but you can always go back and get an updated copy again). ------ By: nstrong@fox.nstn.ca (Norman Strong) Netscape Chat is a pretty good program. It works in conjuction with NN or as a stand alone program. ------ By: Paul "Homer" is the most mac-like and easiest to use. Iricle is the most powerful, and takes up less ram, but it is more for "power-users." I recommend anyone switching from AOL to use "Homer" first. Current version is 0.94 ------ By: Thomas Parker I've used both Homer and ircle extensively, and vastly prefer ircle. The latest version of ircle does everything Homer does, and last I checked had some features unimplemented by Homer, like bans. I also think that ircle supports more completely the irc commands. Homer looks nicer, with brighter buttons and such, but ircle is smaller and, in my experience, much more stable. Both are very easy to set up--when first launched, they'll splash up the preferences screen to get connected. Enter nickname, user name, irc server (try us.undernet.org or irc.dal.net to be connected randomly to a server on the respective irc networks) and go. Avoid using commands you don't understand or can't duplicate via the command line--for example, ircle will allow you to kick and ban someone by clicking a button, but you won't be able to unban that person unless you know the command line command and user@host mask that was used by ircle. You'd then have to ask someone else to do the unban. ------ By: Travis Belton I found a better solution, at least for me, was to just use any old telnet program (like NCSA Telnet) and telnet into one of the many "talkers". This is interactive chat just like IRC, but more comfortable for me, perhaps because it was a smaller group of people involved. IF you want to try, one place to start is You can use a 'screenname" and once you have an account, try other "ports". People on there can give you pointers to other talkers - most people have several they log into. Legalisms and Information ------------------------- Copyright 1989-1996 Tony Lindsey. The contents of Mac*Chat may not be republished, either in whole or in part, without the express permission of the editor. Small excerpts of Mac*Chat may be reproduced for personal use, or by nonprofit groups (such as Mac User Groups) if full credit is given, including this notice, how to subscribe, and how to make donations. Please contact the editor for any publication requests. This newsletter is intended purely as entertainment and free information. No profit has been made in return for publication of 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 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. Mac*Chat back-issues may be found within any Info-Mac ftp archive at /info-mac/per/chat - For example: and read with any Web browser at Current issues may be found on the comp.sys.mac.digests newsgroup. GETTING A FREE SUBSCRIPTION, STEP ONE: -------------------------------------- This will cause Mac*Chat to be e-mailed to you automatically, every week (unless I'm on vacation or just too darned busy): FIRST, turn off your e-mail program's "automatic signature" feature, if it has one. Extra e-mail addresses in the end of your message can create a "Subscription From Hell," with unpredictable, hard-to-fix problems. ----- THEN, send an e-mail message to the following address: listserv@vm.temple.edu The Subject line on this message is ignored, so it can say anything. In the body of the message, include the following line: SUBSCRIBE MACCHAT Your full name As an example: SUBSCRIBE MACCHAT Juliana Tarlton. GETTING A FREE SUBSCRIPTION, STEP TWO: -------------------------------------- In order to protect people from being unwillingly subscribed to Mac*Chat, a message will arrive in your e-mail, asking for a one-word response to verify that you DO want to subscribe. Here's the response you should send: OK Notice that it's all-capitals, and nothing but those two characters. If you follow these instructions, you will receive a nice long message explaining acceptance of your subscription, how to end it (if desired) and general mailing-list info. KEEP THAT MESSAGE! It'll tell you how to un-subscribe when that day comes. WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU HAVE SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS? ------------------------------------------------- Please contact Shrimmy, who handles such things for me. His e-mail address is shrim@thunder.ocis.temple.edu ============== ____ ====================================================== Tony Lindsey \ _/__ Free, weekly e-mailed Mac-oriented newsletter Mac*Chat Editor \X / ================= \/ =====================================================