From: xxltony@cts.com (Tony Lindsey) Subject: Mac*Chat#101/23-Jan-96 Mac*Chat#101/23-Jan-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 and how to contribute donations to keep Mac*Chat thriving. Any [comments in brackets] are by Tony Lindsey. Highlights Of This Issue ------------------------ I talk about the trip I made to San Francisco for the MacWorld Expo and the Macintosh Consultants Network Conference, I tell where to get really good deals on slightly-obsolete Mac hardware, I talk a LOT about my new portable Mac and what I've discovered so far about future upgrades and goodies for it, I strongly urge Mac consultants everywhere to join the Macinstosh Consultants Network, we keep on talking about making t-shirts directly on your Mac without leaving the house to do it, I emphatically urge Mac artists to get their hands on a couple of socko CD's, and I explain the mystery of those "" URL's in every issue of Mac*Chat. Topics: Highlights Of This Issue Editor's Notes My Trip To San Francisco Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part One Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part Two Upgrading My New Powerbook 520 To A Powermac Notes From My Powerbook 520 Buddy Attention Mac Consultants! Making Color T-Shirts With The Mac, Part Two Important News For Mac Artists Technical Section Starts... Here Finding Goodies Mentioned In Mac*Chat Via E-Mail, Part One Legalisms Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter Editor's Notes -------------- By Tony Lindsey After spending some time chatting with readers at the MacWorld Expo, I've decided to continue shifting Mac*Chat's focus a little at a time. I'm consciously and happily taking two steps back from the bleeding edge of technology. I'm not interested in "scooping" other publications on the newest, hottest and fastest new groovy stuff. I just want to know What Works. I want to know what I can recommend to my dearest loved ones and valued clients without having the advice blow up in my face later on. If I learn something timely and new that fits into that criteria, I'll pass it along, but I'm not going to run myself into the ground trying to race head of everybody else. I'm weary of stressing myself out. I've found my niche, and it's a lot comfier than the old one. My favorite part of being at MacWorld Expo was meeting so many of my wonderful readers - As a result of the conversations I had there, I've decided to loosen-up a bit with my writing. I was a bit shy in San Francisco - It was a little wierd to be so well-known. I was walking from the plane to Baggage-Claim, and a man stopped me, saying "Excuse me, but are you TONY LINDSEY?!?" I was a little taken aback, but he was very nice to me. It kept happening at the Expo, too. When I got back from MacWorld Expo, I found almost a thousand e-mail messages waiting from my faithful readers, and every darned one of them needs careful reading. Please be patient if I haven't finished various topics yet! My Trip To San Francisco ------------------------ By Tony Lindsey The last time I went to the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, I believe it was in 1987. I didn't like it very much, since I really had no idea what was worth bothering with, so I tried to learn everything at once. I've come a long way since then, and I made no effort to try and absorb everything at the show. I just relaxed and learned what I could. I still found time to go to the gym every morning. I spent a lot of time at the Expo asking questions on behalf of my readers. I was grilling techs at the various booths, who were baffled to be asked such technical questions by somebody with a name-tag saying "MAC CHART." (I got that fixed on the second day...) Once they realized how many readers I represented, several of them said "If you mention my product in your newsletter, I'll..." I would cut them off instantly, saying "I'm sorry, I don't accept kickbacks of any kind - Thanks, anyway, though." I'm still sorting-through the vendors I've met, trying to figure-out which ones get approached for Mac*Chat sponsorship. In the meantime, I'm still very grateful for donations... While I was in San Francisco, I stayed with some really fine folks who are Mac*Chat readers. Clayton and Chris told me to stay with them any time I was in San Francisco. I did, and it was wonderful. So, if any of my readers need a place to stay in San Francisco at no charge, just drop right in, any time of the day or night! Their address is around here someplace... :-> I'll be adding my observations about good stuff I saw at the Expo to the next few issues, such as... Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part One --------------------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey If you're a registered member of an Apple-authorized Mac User group in the USA (there are 2,000 of them, with 30 in my immediate area), you can get REALLY good deals on hardware and software. Good stuff, no kidding. They don't sell anything unless it has passed scrutiny by a panel of User-Group expert members as being acceptable. The catalog is quite impressive. For more information: If you're on America Online, go to keyword UGF. Ordering info: <800-350-4842/FAX 408-477-4290> To be alerted of good deals as they occur (they may get 70 PowerMac 7100's at a really low price, for example), send e-mail to and in the subject and message fields, type SUBSCRIBE UGSTORE (followed by your full name). Excellent Sources For Macs At Good Prices, Part Two --------------------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey I've been asking about portable Macs for a while now. I've finally bought one. I had to max-out two credit cards, but I'm still glad I did it. I found a vendor at MacWorld Expo that buys Apple's final stock of discontinued Macs and sells them at very good prices. I now have a brand-new Powerbook 520 4/240, which cost me $1100, tax included. I'm very happy with it, except I had some hideous problems with my display right after I installed RAM Doubler 1.51. I'll talk more about it below... I intentionally chose the new, grayscale 520 over the reconditioned color 520c (costing $150 more) because I remembered something I read about the grayscale screens sucking-up less battery power. I can always plug a color monitor into the back if I need it at home. I got the 520 from CompExpress, 3381 Walnut Avenue, Fremont, CA 94538, 510-794-9311/FAX 510-794-9314. They said they had about 70 of the 520's left, and that they don't do e-mail and web-pages yet. They sell hundreds of other outdated Mac boxes, like the Performa 638CD 8/350, with 15" screen, keyboard and mouse for $1199. They get new stuff in all of the time, they say. I'd like to know if anybody else has had any dealings with them, good or bad. What are other good sources of leftover-stock Macs for sale? Upgrading My New Powerbook 520 To A Powermac -------------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey I was already aware of the following item when I bought my Powerbook, and it affected my purchase-decision: I grilled the folks at the Newer Technology (NT) booth for a while - The technicians there were very happy to answer my questions at length. I asked one of my standard questions - "What should I know about that's important, but I don't know about?" In return, I got one of the most-exciting tips about an upcoming product at the show. In February of 1996, Newer is expecting to ship the NUpowr upgrade for 500-series Powerbooks. Apple's handing the job over to them, since they don't want to do it, despite the sticker on my 520's screen, saying "Ready for PowerPC Upgrade." If I get the $999 model of the upgrade that has 8 megs on the micro-motherboard, I'll have spent around $2100 total for a 117-mhz 603e PowerPC Powerbook. Compare that to the cost of a 5300, which is slower! The 520 will be 360-percent faster than it is right now, according to MacBench, if I'm using native software. Newer Technology, Wichita, Kansas <800-678-3726/316-685-4904/FAX 316-685-9368> ------ My 520's screen went bonkers for a while, and I'm hoping it was because of Ram Doubler. The screen went completely scrambled, even after each shutdown and/or restart. I de-installed RAM Doubler, re-installed the System file from a boot diskette by dragging it into the System folder (7.1 works dandy). The problem went away, and I'm crossing my fingers. It's been running fine for quite a while now. ------ I learned something cool while I was fussing around with the 520 - I was a bit nervous about there being no obvious "Off" switch on the 520, so I was digging around in the manuals and discovered that Control-Option-Command-PowerKey is the "Power-Goes-Off-NOW" command. It allows me to disconnect my 520 from my IIci after I'm done using the 520's hard disk as an external drive. I get nervous messing with SCSI cables unless all power is off. I don't want to fry my motherboard. ------- The following technique ONLY works with Powerbooks designed for it. If the "Powerbook Setup" control panel doesn't offer you a "SCSI Disk Mode" section, DON'T DO THIS: Here's how I connect the two computers through SCSI cables for fast swapping of files: - I know that my "Powerbook Setup" control panel is set for a SCSI-Disk address of "2", so I leave it that way. - I turn off all power to all devices - I connect my Apple-brand SCSI-Disk cable (there are others out there - What are good ones, and where do we get 'em?) to a short 50-50-pin SCSI cable, and then to my APS 230-meg magneto-optical drive, with its SCSI address set to 6, and its Digital Active Termination turned on - This makes sure that the SCSI termination is set perfectly for the connection. - I connect from the drive to my IIci's SCSI port. - I turn on the Powerbook, then the external drive, and then the IIci. Perfect! The 520's hard disk pops up on my IIci's desktop. I can transfer files back and forth with complete assurance. When I'm done, I... - Shut down the IIci, - Switch off the external drive, - Hit the magic keystrokes mentioned above to turn the Powerbook's power off, - and disconnect the cable from the back of the Powerbook. According to the Apple manual, I can leave the cable dangling, waiting for the next time I connect. - What are the other really cool things I can do with a Powerbook? - Where do I get the best accessories? I'm planning to add a PCMCIA card-cage to my 520 (mentioned below), and use PC-cards, like a 28.8k modem, since the fastest internal modem Global Village offers for a 500-series Powerbook is a 19.2k model. NOT good enough. Notes From My Powerbook 520 Buddy --------------------------------- By danpeck@panix.com (Dan Peck) [Dan's the guy who told me about the vendor that sold me my Powerbook. Great guy! I owe him a cookie.] A few more tidbits regarding the 520 [and all other 500-series Powerbooks]. I have just discovered what seems the best kept secret in the Apple world. There is a PCMCIA adapter for the 500 series. It apparently uses the left battery socket. Now try and find one. My local Mac specialist says they'll have some in within the month. ($219) Having already purchased a lightweight [external] modem [from Supra, which is powered by the ADB port - He got it for $150 at the Expo], I'm not sure I'm going to require it, but it's good to know that it's around. It is mentioned little or not at all in Apple's literature. Do you know of any problems with it? [I WILL be buying one - what's a good source?] I ordered 8 megs of RAM today from Memory Traders [<800-315-7807/703-243-4006> Web and e-mail info is pending.] At $229, that's about $70 less than anywhere else. I hope it's not a mirage. And I hope I remember how to take a Powerbook apart. I've done it before, but it's not for the faint of heart. [I saw one being disassembled, and it's mighty touchy - I'd probably be a little paranoid about doing it, and I used to be a repair technician! Anybody want to send me the step-by-step instructions?] Attention Mac Consultants! -------------------------- By Tony Lindsey I'll have more to say about the MacWorld Expo and what I found there, but first I wanted to say a few things about what happened afterward. I was invited to be Master of Ceremonies for the Macintosh Consultants Network (MCN) Conference (see issue #99), and I accepted, even though I hadn't officially joined the group yet. I thought I'd spy on things on behalf of the many, many Mac*Chat readers who send me consulting questions every week. I'm very happy to tell my fellow Mac consultants that the MCN is a WONDERFUL group of highly-professional, successful consultants, and the group is on the march. They are making big changes so that Mac consultants all over the world can share wisdom through the Internet in effective ways, and use their combined clout to shape the Mac's future. I was deeply impressed with the group, and gladly paid for membership. The conference alone was worth more than the price of admission. I've been to many, many Mac User Group meetings, where some marketing flack from a big corporation would do a demo in front of a bunch of random, sometimes poorly-socialized rowdies. There would be very little connection between the audience and the presenters. This conference allowed a closer relationship, because the people in the audience were professionals and opinion-makers, and the presenters were techs who really knew their stuff. The level of evasiveness was refreshingly low, and the presentations were nearly all exciting and interesting to me. Even a salty old, cynical consultant like me had no trouble bonding with the industry-reps there. I felt no inappropriate levels of pressure to be biased toward them, and you KNOW how sensitive I am. It was honest all the way. I learned a lot of stuff that I had been intending to explore, once I got some "free time." Yeah, right. In my life, it normally never happens. This time, I was: - Away from home and the ringing phones, - Staying in a swanky hotel - Being fed like a lord, and - Treated like an intelligent, valuable person by industry personnel. A consultant could get used to this. This was a wonderful way to learn new stuff that I could use. I finally got to see exactly how the good, new hardware and software worked. I also got to spend time with representatives from all four of the Mac manufacturers (Apple, Power Computing, UMAX and Radius). I recommend that all Mac consultants, at whatever level, (on whatever continent) strongly consider joining the MCN. If you're anxious to learn how to BE a professional consultant, there are new methods to help you that are being set up right now. Personally, I'm looking forward to getting better health-insurance soon through the MCN (it's in the works). I haven't said much about the MCN before this, because I didn't know enough to have an opinion. Now that I know, I can say I've found something excellent. Don't miss out. It's 1996, and the job of a consultant isn't getting any easier. It's long-since past time for us to share what we know. ------ The MCN is planning more conferences, and more information may be found at their Web site: and through their automatically-returned, e-mailed info: PLEASE be patient with the volunteers who are handling the Internet connections - They want to keep everything on a careful, professional level, just as I'm doing with Mac*Chat. People in our position have to make changes very slowly, because we don't want to screw up something excellent. Expect membership on a LISTSERV mailing list for daily discussions and Q&A, instant updates and the like. It will be very strongly moderated, so no flame-wars - Keep it professional! Making Color T-Shirts With The Mac, Part Two -------------------------------------------- By Tony Lindsey The following tips are for folks who just want to crank-out small amounts of t-shirts in their own homes. I'll be posting the messages about professional screen-printing of t-shirts in the next issue. Refer to issues #98 and 99 for previous discussions. ----- I'm glad to say that the Canon special T-shirt-making paper I mentioned in issue #99 works dandy with Hewlett-Packard color inkjet printers, too. Dandy, if you are not super-picky - When Canon shows a little kid wearing a t-shirt printed on one of their printers, they're hinting that kids and average folks will be thrilled. It's NOT up to professional quality, but it's A-Okay with me and my family. Here's a few thoughts: - Follow the instructions that come in the box of special paper, EXACTLY. No kidding. - DON'T put water in your iron! Steam makes the paper curl. - Use 50/50 Cotton/Polyester shirts - If you're printing to a Hewlett-Packard printer, I recommend printing the image as dark and saturated as possible. From faintest to darkest, here are the four settings under Page Setup: * Special Paper (very faint) * Plain Paper (not much better) * Glossy or Transparency (good and saturated for maximum image-transfer). I use either of these settings. ------- If you don't HAVE a color inkjet printer, I really like the new Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 855C. The $600 street price gets you kick-ass color image quality and an Appletalk interface. I would buy it myself if I was shopping right now. The Epson Stylus is going to have to play catch-up. ------- By Steve DeLine, Linographics Inc. Orange, CA In reference to your Buick logo being screenprinted for Xmas gifts. What is the finished size? I'm assuming this would be for short runs. 10-25 or so. Seiko is probably the leader in the screenprint field with their Personal colorpoint printer - it will produce wax thermal and dye-sub transfers - using 3 and 4 color ribbons. Depending on which you choose - these images can be flopped and printed to a special transfer paper and then applied to a variety of finished products including T-Shirts, hats, mugs, mousepads - etc. Fargo has a similar process - but their printer leaves a bit to be desired. We are a VAR specializing in screenprint applications nationwide. -------- By Rebecca Pridmore Whenever I've needed T-Shirts done, I've brought my illustration (on Mac disk media) and shirts to Kinko's copy shop, and they've done a very good job. I suppose the quality will ultimately depend on your local Kinko's & their staff, but I've never had any problems, and their prices are good. Important News For Mac Artists ------------------------------ By Tony Lindsey While I was at the Expo, I bought two CD's that I strongly recommend for anyone who has become proficient with a PowerMac and art programs. If you haven't been paying attention to the newest CD's, it's time to catch up with these two. Borrow 'em or buy 'em, but take the time to completely memorize 'em, even if they're not to your personal taste, because your future may depend on it. They're plenty avant-garde: - Primus - Tales From The Punchbowl - The Residents - Bad Day On The Midway ------- These CD's work very nicely if you have enough Mac horsepower for them. Using them on an 8-meg PowerMac is a stone drag, since you have to turn-off nearly all of your RAM-hogging extensions. The modern world expects you to have 16 megs of installed RAM and a fast Mac like a Centris 650 or better. Read the back of the CD box if you're not sure. ------ While you're looking at the back of the box, take the time to notice the list of artists who contributed their work to these disks. These folks created all of those stunning graphics, using Macs very much like what you're probably using already, and they're getting PAID for stuff that they can be proud of. I make this point because I've seen an awful lot of art-school graduates who are designing menus for restaurants because they can't find any buyers for their wildest stuff. Here's the good news: ----- The Primus CD is the same jazzy/raw rock album that has been available for eight months now, but it costs three bucks more. That money buys the "Enhanced CD" version, available for sale at your local record store right about now. It has all of the music stored on the older disk, PLUS an entire album's-worth of animated lyrics and stories, using a "tugboat" interface that's really a wowser. Ion, 3301 Kerner Blvd, Suite 260, San Rafael, CA 94901 <415-455-1466/FAX 415-455-1445> It's a complete success as a way to add value to a musical album. I predict that in two years, the plain-old, music-only CD's are going to be relegated to the back stacks at the stores, while the Enhanced CD's are the big sellers. The record companies are going to need visual splendor in massive quantities, and Mac artists are going to be very desired as Content-Providers. Hint Hint. Time to start scheming for your future as a Wild and Popular Artist. ------ To obtain even more evidence that my ravings have value, get a copy of the newest EduCorp catalog <800-843-9497/619-536-9999/FAX 619-536-2345> Their Web page and e-mailed info won't be up for a few months. They're the biggest source of Mac- compatible CD-ROMs, and their catalog shows page after page of visually-rich CD-ROM's for sale. Some of them are gaining fan-clubs, purely because of the artists who designed them. ----- Jim Ludtke is a great example. He created The Residents' Freak Show a few years back, and his fans had been eagerly awaiting Bad Day At The Midway. It's incredible, dark, disturbing, moody and brilliant, and available at any CD-ROM store. It's the best CD of 1995 in MY book. Artists should pay extra-close attention to the miniature visual stories contributed by independent artists, such as the Kill-A-Commie Shooting Gallery (my favorite animation sequence, and no, it's not violent) and the Dream of the Coma Man. Get it. Muy Bueno. For more info: iNSCAPE, PO Box 251829, Los Angeles, CA 90025 ------ Please don't write to me complaining that these CD's are not to your musical or visual tastes - They make ME uncomfortable, too, and excited. They are breakthroughs and milestones, and should be viewed that way. The market is full of boring swill, but you won't hear about it here. Technical Section Starts... Here -------------------------------- Finding Goodies Mentioned In Mac*Chat Via E-Mail, Part One ---------------------------------------------------------- By Ann Pfaff Doss I was one of the poor souls who wrote to Dave Kramer for the full path to retrieve Mac OS Purge. What was in his MacChat posting was: I explained that I have level 1 connectivity (e-mail only) and would have to either use a Web server or get someone with Web access to download the file for me, both of which require a full path name at least back to just after http://www. Could you help? ------ Tony's Answer: I apologize for all of the confusion and terseness. I've been spanked in the past for posting full, complete pathnames and URL's, because if I get too specific about a file that can be found on any of dozens of worldwide sites, the site I mention gets flooded with a zillion greedy Mac*Chat subscribers grabbing it all at once. I'd do the same thing, so don't think I'm being judgmental. The main Stanford "info-mac" site is WAY too busy to deal with folks like you and me, so dozens of "mirror" sites all over the planet make copies of anything new there and store them on their own sites for folks to grab locally. It's good Netiquette to choose a site near you, to avoid flooding the Internet links between continents. Just for future reference, you can get a full list of ALL info-mac mirror-sites from: While you're there, be sure to pick up a copy of the following files, too: (over 400k in size) (about 22k) Once you've got your list of mirror sites, read it and use its advice to replace all future references to "info-mac" with a site that's close to you. Here's an example: If you're in Europe ONLY, and want to access the Belgian site, use "ftp://ftp.linkline.be/mirror/info-mac/" as the beginning of all of your info-mac file downloads. So, the "Mac OS Purge" software mentioned at the beginning of this article can be found on the Belgian site at: See the pattern? Only the first part changes. In return for my explanation, would you please tell me the step-by-step procedure for downloading those files via e-mail? Legalisms and Information ------------------------- Copyright 1989-1996 Tony Lindsey. Whole issues of Mac*Chat may be copied freely, provided that all copies are left intact and unedited. Small excerpts of Mac*Chat may be reproduced for personal use or by nonprofit groups (such as Mac User Groups) or for other non-commercial publications if full credit is given. Please contact the editor for any other publication requests. This newsletter is intended purely as entertainment and free information. No profit has been made from 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 3401-A55 Adams Avenue San Diego, CA 92116-2429 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. Financial donations are gratefully accepted, to help defray the costs of putting-out one of the fastest-growing newsletters on earth. For more information, send e-mail to with "Donations" in the Subject line. Mac*Chat back-issues may be found within any Info-Mac ftp archive at /info-mac/per/chat and read with any Web browser at Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter ------------------------------------- You may subscribe to Mac*Chat by sending e-mail to: The Subject line 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 You will receive a nice long message explaining acceptance of your subscription, how to end it (if desired) and general listserv info. You will then automatically receive Mac*Chat in your e-mail box, for free, every week. ============== ____ ================================================== Tony Lindsey \ _/__ Free, weekly e-mailed Mac-oriented newsletter Mac*Chat Editor \X / ================= \/ =================================================