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News

Odds & Ends

a. Retrospect 4.0 fixes Apex problem We have already mentioned that Retrospect 4.0 is out. However, I neglected to mention that this new version fixes the problem Retrospect 3.0 had with Pinnacle Micro Apex optical drives - as covered here previously.

b. Favorite news site poll The Unofficial Macintosh PR Department is running a contest to determine the Mac community's favorite Mac news related site. It's titled, "Vote For Your Favorite Mac News Site."

c. Connectix VirtualPC I have now worked with Connectix' VirtualPC for several days. While I have not pushed it … Read more

Drive Setup: what drives does it really work with?

Last week, we described users having problems with FWB's HDT 2.0.6 on Power Computing clones and solving the problem by reformatting their disk with Apple's Drive Setup. This raised the issue as to exactly what drives will work with Drive Setup. Traditionally, Apple's drivers have only recognized Apple drives. Drive Setup also will work with most removable cartridge systems. But what about internal drives in clones?

The reply from Apple on this question was: "Drive Setup is intended to initialize all Apple qualified internal drives and some removables. It is possible that other drives … Read more

Kaleidoscope 1.7 is out! Fixes bugs previously reported here.

Kaleidoscope 1.7 is out. According to the press release, it fixes bugs ( as previously reported here) with: Global Village's FAX software, Wunderbar, Church Windows Microsoft applications, and The American Heritage Dictionary (version 3.0). It also fixes a bug with irregularly shaped scroll bar thumbs that was introduced in 1.6. And it works with Mac OS 8!

Epson Stylus Color 800 driver and system crashes: a follow-up

Regarding system crash and related problems with the new driver for the Epson Stylus Color 800 ( as reported last time), users continue to confirm these problems. However, as is common in these situations, not everyone who has the driver is complaining. Exactly what other extension(s) may be involved is particularly unclear. Here's a summary of what readers are saying:

The problem confirmed - although not necessarily involving TFI - and some possible fixes

a. Mark Surloff had the same problem as reported last time: a crash at startup after installing the driver and associated with Aladdin's StuffIt … Read more

MacHack this week

MacHack conference is this week from June 26-28. Self described as "The Annual Conference for Leading Edge Developers," Steve Wozniak will be this year's keynote speaker. The conference takes place in my "backyard" in Dearborn, MI. I will be at the conference for at least some of the sessions and will post some comments and reactions on the Late-Breakers page on Friday.

Odds & Ends

Internal clock freeze Lee Riggs had a problem where the internal clock of his Mac simply stopped. It did not revert back to some prior time - as happens when a battery fails. It simply stopped at the current time and never changed again - even after a restart. He says he spoke to the makers of Power Key Pro (which he uses) and they told him that they have seen this happen (whether or not you are using Power Key Pro) on "some" models of Mac if you unplug the Mac from its power source (i.e., … Read more

New Epson 800 driver may cause crash at startup

John Lubetich confirms that the new driver for the Epson Stylus Color 800 does fix network printing bugs (such as previously described here). However, he also claims that it crashed his system, on both a 3400/200 and a PowerCenter Pro 210 running 7.6.1 - just as the Finder was loading - if the "True Finder Integration" extension that comes with Stuffit Deluxe is active.

Kevin Callahan reports he also had a problem with his PowerTower Pro200 crashed at startup after installing the new driver. I have not determined whether he was also using the TFI … Read more

Two utilities updated: OT/PPP Strip 1.0.1 and ScreenShot 2.5.3

OT/PPP Strip 1.0.1 is a "free Control Strip module that works with Apple's Open Transport/PPP software to allow you to quickly change PPP configurations, connect, and disconnect OT/PPP without going to the PPP Control Panel. In addition, it can display your current connect time, speed, or activity right in the Control Strip itself, also saving you a trip to the control panel." The update fixes several bugs, including the one noted here previously that had prevented hard drive spin downs and sleep.

ScreenShot, a screen capture utility from The Beale Street Group … Read more

Troubleshooting AppleShare Client 3.7

Apple has release AppleShare Client 3.7. The ReadMe file for the new software contains some interesting nuggets of news. Here's a sampler:

The AppleShare Client Installer places the appropriate localized AppleShare Chooser extension in the Extensions folder inside the System Folder. It also upgrades the AutoRemounter control panel to version 1.4.2. On PCI Macintosh computers, the Installer upgrades the Ethernet driver to version 1.0.5.

Microsoft Office Manager causes the AppleShare Client 3.7 software to crash when you try to connect to an AppleShare file server. To correct this problem, install Office Manager Updater, … Read more

DaynaPORT PCI Ethernet card problem: a fix is on the way

Regarding the problem with the DaynaPORT PCI Ethernet Adapter ( as reported last week), Chris Heatherly (of Power Computing) sent me this follow-up note:

"As you may already know, some users of Alchemy-based machines (ex. Performa 6400, PowerBase, etc.) and Tanzania-based machines (StarMax, APS, PowerTools, etc.) have reported difficulty transferring large files using the DaynaPORT Ethernet PCI card.

Dayna has reproduced this issue on a Apple Performa 6400 and has developed an update extension which appears to resolve the issue in lab tests. The issue has not been reproduced on any other system to date.

Today, I sent this extension … Read more