Systems - November 1996

Wow!  My first issue for MUGORS!  I think Iıve discovered the only reason I was offered this Systems position: the commute to Regina every month for the previous Systems Director, James Russell, was becoming too much of a problem for him.  Now letıs get started!


After experiencing a number of unexplained crashes and freezes on my Performa 6300 while surfing, I decided to do a little investigation.  My first stop was to Netscapeıs home page (http://home.netscape.com) to look for a new version of Navigator.  Since most of my problems happened while I had Netscape running, I thought this was a pretty good first step.  As it turns out, there is a new version of Netscape out in beta.  It caused more problems than it solved so Iım sticking with Netscape 3.0 for the time being.
The next place I checked was MacInTouch.  Those unfamiliar with MacWeek (http://www.macweek.com) may not know about MacInTouch and Ric Ford.  Ric Ford writes a weekly column in MacWeek where Macintosh problems, system problems, and general bug fixes are discussed.  I pointed Netscape to the MacInTouch page (http://www.macintouch.com) and began searching for any news on the problems I was having with my Mac.  This site organises its information by date so one can search through the archives looking for news, updates, and bug fixes.
Hereıs what I found out.  There are three updates or fixes out there right now: WDEF (Window Definition) Fix, Finder Memory Fix, and the PowerPC Interrupt Extension.  All of these are available on the November MUGShot.  If Kevin wasnıt able to fit all the stuff on the disk, the files can be found on the MUGORS Web site at http://tdi.uregina.ca/~mugors/systems/.
1. The WDEF Fix converts purgeable windows to unpurgeable windows.  When switching between applications, the windows in the applications have to be redrawn on the screen.  If a windows is purgeable, it may cause a crash basically because the window resource cannot be found and therefore cannot be redrawn.
2. The Finder Memory Fix can be used to increase the memory allocated to the Finder.  In some instances of System 7.5, especially System 7.5.5, the memory allocated to the Finder needs to be increased.  One instance where this may be needed is with DataVizıs MacLinkPlus version 9.0.  Theyıve released a Finder Memory Fix utility with which you can increase the memory allocated to the Finder.  Itıs not possible to increase the memory to the Finder like one does with applications, so a utility like DataVizıs utility is required.  There are three main symptoms that you may experience without the memory fix: error type 11 at startup, alternating watch/cursor at startup, and out of memory errors when opening multiple windows.
3. The third update or fix I found is called the PowerPC Interrupt Extension.  This should be used on all desktop-based Macintoshes and Macintosh clones with the PowerPC chip.  There are problems with the way low-level interrupts are handled on these machines.  The symptom youıll find is a sudden freeze of your machine.
After I installed these three updates/fixes, my Mac has been much more stable.  I recommend that everyone out there use these three updates on their systems.  More information on these updates and fixes can be found in the included readme files.


As for other systems news, Apple has announced updates and non-beta releases of some extensions.  A new version of Appleıs PlainTalk technology has been released.  This speech extension allows your Mac to talk to you.  The new version reportedly has support for the Mac to say the message dialogues to you.  Apple has also released the first non-beta version of Open Transport/PPP.  The OT/PPP version 1.0 extension works with Open Transport, Appleıs new network system, which allows support for PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol),  OT/PPP can be used in place of extensions such as Config PPP or FreePPP.  For an extra little tidbit, Claris Emailer version 1.1 is free to download from Clarisı Web site (http://www3.claris.com/forms/emailer-offer/us.html).


For the last bit of Systems news this month, Iım going to discuss the MacOS.  There are reports on the Net that what we knew of Copland, Appleıs next version of the MacOS system software - System 8 or MacOS 8, is dead.  Rather than releasing one mammoth OS, Apple is instead releasing smaller updates to the system software.  The next update named Harmony is due in the winter with the following update, named Tempo, due in the summer of 1997.  If you need help keeping track of all the various system releases out there and what you need to upgrade to the next version, check out MacInTouchıs System 7.5 versions table (http://www.macintouch.com/sys75vers.html).
Besides these changes to Appleıs system strategy, there is also news of the BeOS.  For those who havenıt heard the BeOS is an operating system developed by previous Apple employees.  It has been demoed running on a Macintosh with a PowerPC chip.  Apple is currently in negotiations with Be to purchase the BeOS and bring a hybrid MacOS/BeOS system to the Macintosh in the middle of 1997.  This will once again bring changes to the MacOS.  Rumours have it that the Mac-BeOS will combine parts of both operating systems.  According to the November 4, 1996 MacWeek, ³the main thrust of Appleıs plans is a merger of the microkernel from MacOS 8, formerly code-named Copland, with the BeOS application model. . . . By using BeOS technology, the company [Apple] hopes to gain an elegant, high-performance operating system that is deeply object-oriented while offering a checklist of modern OS services: preemptive multitasking, symmetrical multiprocessing, multithreading and protected memory².  If this union happens, it looks like weıll be getting a strong and powerful operating system combining the best of both worlds.
NOTE: The developer version of the BeOS will be available in the January issue of MacTech magazine.


November Bonus: To celebrate the possible union of the MacOS and the BeOS, you can see what the MacOS 8 and the BeOS look like.  On the MUGORS Web page in the systems area, you can download the Aaron extension which adds part of the look-and-feel of System 8 to your current Macintoshes.  Also available is an extension called BeView that duplicates some of the look-and-feel of the BeOS.  Both of these shareware extensions were made by Greg Landweber.