News

Surf Express 1.1.1 Mac Updater is out

Connectix has released Surf Express 1.1.1 Mac Updater. Changes between versions 1.1 and 1.1.1 (Mac OS version) include:

a. Internet Explorer 4.x performance with Surf Express is improved. b. SmartFetch now functions under all circumstances. c. Printing a document, under certain circumstances, no longer initiates a PPP connection. d. Unexpected initiation of a PPP connection no longer occurs. e. The Applications menu no longer displays incorrectly while Surf Express is running.

And in other troubleshooting news...

InfiniteOS danger? As the Apple Turns is reporting that Cache Computing's new InfiniteOS may corrupt your hard drive.

UMAX scanner problems The Daily Mac has posted a special report compiling problems with several different UMAX Astra scanners, mainly focusing on the Astra 610s.

Odds & Ends

Disappearing icons work-around Regarding the disappearing icons problem, mentioned last time, Dave Gendreau claims that you can get the icons to re-appear simply by pressing Command-A when on the desktop.

Eudora freeze Mark James writes: "The newest version of Eudora, version 4.0, running under Mac OS 8.1, causes a system freeze if you have the 'Redirect To' option enabled in filtering. It works fine when you do it from the Command menu. Qualcomm says they are aware of this, but don't have a fix as yet."

DiskEssentials patch coming DiskEssentials v1.1.3 patch will … Read more

Microsoft Mail and Mac OS 8.1: a follow-up

Regarding the item last time claiming an incompatibility with MS Mail running under Mac OS 8.1, several readers report not having a new problem with 8.1. They confirm a problem with using MS Mail's buttons, but this glitch was present in 8.0 as well.

If you are dissatisfied with MS Mail, a couple of readers suggested that you switch to Quarterdeck Mail (now called StarNine Mail). A free download of their latest beta version is available. It is Mac OS 8.1 compatible.

Update: Bryan Pietrzak swings the pendulum the other way (I am not sure … Read more

Iomega 5.5.1 update: a follow-up

Download problems and ftp Many readers have reported problems downloading the new Iomega 5.5.1 software update from the Iomega web site link. Problems included getting a "Communications exception: (-244)" error. Other readers suggested that using a ftp client, rather than a web browser, avoided these hassles. For example, Maury McCown wrote: "I ftp'd with Fetch to host <147.178.1.54 >. From here, go to the 'pub' directory, and scroll down until you see the 'mac551.hqx' archive. Double-click and wait about 20 to 30 minutes."

In this regard, Eric Belsley, … Read more

Corel's support for the Mac: Is it over?

A few days ago, David Weatherston received the following message from Corel, in reference to a question he asked regarding WordPerfect: "We are no longer developing products for the Macintosh." Yesterday's MacCentral has a statement from Ken Freeman (of Corel Marketing) on this matter. Ken "admits that another stand alone version of WordPerfect isn't a sure thing." However, Corel still has "Mac development efforts" in progress, including its "Java initiatives" and possible Rhapsody-based versions of its applications.

Also: Informed sources report that CorelDRAW 8 is now in beta and should … Read more

Global Village PC Card and wake-from-sleep problem: a surprising work-around?

Irwin Mortman reportsvarious problems using the Global Village Platinum PC Card when running Mac OS 8.1 on his PowerBook 3400. The main problem is an inability to use the PC card after waking from sleep if the card is installed when sleep occurs. This was previously reported here (and disabling the GV PC Card Enabler was a suggested work-around; ejecting and reinserting the card after wake-up is another). When he contacted Global Village about this, they again confirmed the problem, adding: "Global Village is currently working with Apple to find a source of this issue and get a … Read more

CD-ROM freeze: a follow-up

Turns out that the CD-ROM freeze mystery ( mentioned last time) is not completely solved. Several other users with the same problem confirmed the link to Apple Menu Options. The problem extends even to SCSI CD-ROM drives, not just IDE ones (contrary to my speculation last time). However, numerous users report not having the problem at all. A few readers suggested that the problem may only occur if you have AMO's "Remember recently used items" enabled. However, even with that option checked, some readers report not having the problem. A thought: perhaps the problem is due to some … Read more

Utility Updates

Aladdin will release FlashBack 1.1 next month. The update of this utility for saving multiple versions of a document will feaure: an ability to recover from one to 999 previously saved versions of any FlashBack-protected document (was 99); an increased default setting to 50 saved revised documents (was 20).

Kaleidoscope 1.8.2 is out. It is a maintenance release, fixing crashes under Mac OS 8.1 (triggered by schemes using patterns in menus, the menu bar, or window title bars, and happening most frequently with Virtual Memory turned on), problems with FaxSTF popup menus, progress bar glitches with … Read more