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Go-Mac 1.2 issues

Regarding the recently released GoMac 1.2 utility, as mentioned here previously: a. According to Stephen Giles, the developer of GoMac confirms that it is "necessary to have the General Controls control panel loaded" in order to get "the Programs and Documents sub-menus to show up in the Start menu." b. Stephen also found a GoMac 1.2 conflict with the slide show modes of JPEGView 3.3.1 and Jade 1.2 (the screen went black and no JPEGs were displayed). After some further testing, he found that this problem only occurred if GoMac is … Read more

Avid Cinema conflict with Mac OS 7.6.x

Andrew Lipka forwarded me a message from Avid Cinema technical support that confirms that the current versions of Cinema do not work with Mac OS 7.6.x. They say that the reason is that "Apple broke some QuickTime code in 7.6...We will be coming out with a web updater of Cinema sometime this summer that will work on 7.6.1, but in the meantime 7.5.5 is the latest version of the Mac OS that has been qualified with 1.1 and 1.1.1." They note that not all users have problems … Read more

Button Disabler 1.2 "Cannot be used with this Macintosh":

a common problem Last time, we mentioned that a couple of readers reported getting the message "Cannot be used with this Macintosh" after installing the new Button Disabler control panel. Apparently, this problem is quite widespread. I have since gotten several dozen emails from readers using every different Mac that this control panel is supposed to work with - all reporting the same symptom. No cause, other than a likely bug in the control panel itself, has been determined.

Virtual memory slow down in Mac OS 7.6.1:

more on ATA Manager issue Last week, we reported a posting from an AOL Forum that some slow-downs associated with virtual memory (VM) in 7.6.1 were actually due to problems with ATA Manager performance (note: as far as I know, ATA Manager is only relevant to Macs with IDE drives). David Converse, AOL Forum Consultant for Mac OS, forwarded me the complete posting on this subject. It is from Jim Luther, an Apple engineer. It notes that the problem should equally affect RAM Doubler and virtual memory. He also writes that this problem: "only affects the 5400/… Read more

Odds & Ends

a. TIL site beta up and running The previously promised revised interface for Apple's Tech Info Library is finally here - as a beta version for now. Check it out. b. "Use Custom Icon" and System file icon problem The other day my System file icon showed up as a blank document icon. This is a fairly common problem and one that we have discussed here before (see Sad Macs Update Highlights). However, this latest instance turned out to be due to a cause I had not see before: the System file's "Use Custom Icon&… Read more

IP addresses and problem with a modem connection

One day, connecting online via a modem will be as simple and reliable as making an ordinary phone call. For now, it is the "dirty little secret" of the online world that connecting online successfully is about as much of a sure thing as winning at roulette. There is always something that seems to be going wrong - whether with your software, your modem, your ISP, the phone line or the Internet backbone itself. Sometimes, the solution is as simple as trying to connect a second time. Other times, the solution can be much more difficult to find. … Read more

Motorola Tidalwave 56K modem: not for Macs yet

Clay Courtney recently upgraded to the Motorola Tidalwave 56K modem (as described on the Tidalwave web site). Unfortunately, the modem did not come with software for the Mac OS. This apparently was not mentioned anywhere on the web site. The tech support rep at Motorola told Clay if "I was unable to get the modem to work and wanted to return it that I should call the Tidalwave folks back and 'remind' them that Motorola does not support the 56K modem on the Mac."

Acrobat "security leak"?

Shannon Calvert has discovered a security leak of sorts in Acrobat's password protection scheme. If you have a file set up so that it can be read and printed but not edited, beware: "As long as printing is allowed in a PDF document, you can simply run the 'locked' Acrobat file through Distiller to create a duplicate, unlocked file." This is now a fully editable version of the document.

Newer's ViewPowr and memory module limitations

Newer Technology's ViewPowr 16 is a 16 bit video card for the 1400 that allows you to hook an external monitor to the 1400 and have 16-bit color. Apparently there are some rumors floating around that that the card isn't compatible with machines with 6Mb of memory. According to a source at Newer, the card electronically works fine with 64Mb. The problem is that the ViewPowr takes the upper memory module slot up. So you are limited to only having memory in the lower slot. You can have a 24Mb module for a total of 40Mb. Or a … Read more

Type 1010 errors and Breathing Room

Last March, we reported on the problem of Type 1010 errors when accessing the Chooser. It was linked to a memory problem that was most commonly triggered by the OT/PPP Strip Control Strip module. As mentioned previously, a new version of this module is now out that fixes this problem. However, users that do not use this module have also reported this problem. In this regard, note that OT/PPP Strip includes a separate extension called Breathing Room - specifically designed to address this problem. If you are getting these errors, I would recommend trying out this extension whether … Read more