Quit All Applications 1.0
Freeware
At only 5k, Quit All Applications 1.0 is a very small, very handy utility that does one thing very well. When you double click it, all applications will quit. So what? Well, I keep a copy of this in my Apple menu, and have found it useful many times. However, there are a few problems with it that Powerbook users may want to watch out for, such as when you use it, your Battery Monitor program will also quit. Ouch. But creator David Giandomenico has told My Mac that a newer version, due out the same time as this review, should add features such as allowing the user to selectively kill applications and exclude applications, as well as being able to rebuild the desktop. (‘ala TechTool).
As it stands, Quit All Applications 1.0 is a good program, though lacking in features soon to be addressed in the next version. (Note: the next version will be shareware, not freeware.) You can contact David Giandomenico at 100016.1053@CompuServe.COM. My Mac will look for the next version for a review soon.
DS9DS9,
I received #8 in my mail. Thank you. I really enjoyed reading it. My subscription started with this issue & everyone is referring to what they wrote or read in #7, but I can’t find it on AOL. I used filesearch & found all the others, but I don’t see #7. Am I looking in the wrong place? Please help! I feel like I’m missing something. Thanks. I’m looking forward to #9.
Sue Green
Thanks for writing in, Sue! I get many letters about back issues, and though I have helped Sue out already, I figured I would print this letter in the hope that others will find it useful.
To find all back issues of My Mac, do a keyword search on AOL for “DS9DS9″. You will find all back issues there, except the elusive #7. For some reason, it will not show up? So, if you want issue seven, you must go to Macworld Online, and search the “new uploads” area. You must hit the “more” button a million times, but it is still listed there. Macworld also has a folder for electronic publications, so perhaps it will be moved their as well. Continue reading »
For those of you wondering, I do not send out back issue’s. Sorry, but I really do not have the time, or money! However, with the Web page under construction, perhaps we may post a few there as well? I have also tried to use AOL members “FTP” option, but have yet gotten it to work. I’m sure it is not hard to do, I simply have not had the time to play with it!
All you loyal readers of “My Mac” remember me, don’t you? Sure you do, I’m the one with the self drawn caricature of myself in the header. The one that looks like an escaped felon, (according to my wife). To all you new readers of “My Mac,” welcome aboard!
As we all know, spread sheeting is one of the most interesting subjects in the world. Just the word Spreadsheet probably has you sitting on the edge of your seat in anxious anticipation. No need to take notes though, there won’t be any test!
I’ve been having somewhat of a problem staying current on my record keeping for my small, one man business of owning and operating a truck. Sometimes referred to as “My large car” on the CB radio if it’s light splattered, chrome decked and fully loaded with all the bells and whistles! If not quite so fancy, but has a minimum of eighteen wheels, then it’s just, “My big truck”. A little industry specific terminology I thought I’d share with you.
Upon awakening this morning I was determined to catch up on all my monthly business expenses. I keep track of most of these expenses by hand, ( That’s with pencil and paper, for those who may have forgotten ) while I’m on the road spending all this money I don’t have.
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MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION
Hi there. Let me introduce myself – my name is Mike Wallinga. Tim’s mentioned me once or twice. I’m the starting right offensive tackle on my school’s football varsity team. This year we were co-champions of our district and qualified for the state playoffs. Our 7-3 overall record and 6-1 district mark were both the best ever in school history, and I was named second team All-District. That’s by no means my only accomplishment – I’m also in band, choir, and drama – but it’s the one I’m most proud of.
Tim’s asked me to write something for him, and I am quite a bit late in fulfilling his request. (Ed’s note: Way back in issue #2!) Since I’ve put it off for so long, as I write this,I’m getting ready to flip the calendar over to 1996. So what better to write about than the traditional New Year’s resolution?
Well, I’m back again, but at least I left you with something to chew over the last time we were together. (unlike Congress and the White House). So, have any of the first few resolutions made their way into your consciousness yet? Have any of you been there before? Let’s see what else is left in the Resolution grab bag!
Classic Beep
First of all, I have never owned a “classic mac”, but I had used one, many years ago. So when I came across this sound file on AOL, I just had to download it to hear that old classical mac sound. All I can say is, we have come a long way, baby!
This file is only 3K in size, and is freeware. It is worth downloading only if you had a classic mac and want to hear that familiar “beep”, or if you are new to mac’s and wish to hear the way mac’s used to sound. Kind of like listening to stories from your grandfather!
I have saved you the trouble of downloading “Classic Beep” to hear it. All you have to do is click on the icon above, and you will hear the beep of yesteryear! But if you like it, do download it from AOL! I myself sort of like it, and use it as a reminder of just how far we have come in sound quality!
Star Trek Startup init. 1.0
As many of you know, I am a Star Trek fan, and as such, I download many things Star Trek. Most of the shareware programs, sounds, and graphics are pretty decent on the whole, but Star Trek Startup init. 1.0 is pure crap.
I hate to use the word “crap”, as it is very rude and unprofessional. However, in this case, there really is no better word to describe this “program”.
What Star Trek Startup init. 1.0 does is replace your startup screen with a very out of focus, badly drawn picture if what is suppose to be a Star trek computer terminal. It also has a message, that the author states can be changed with ResEdit. If by some chance you like this program, and I shudder at the thought, you will want to change the message. It is bad enough the picture is so, well, BAD, but Rusty Silver (the creator) misspelled the word Request. Rusty, it is not “Reguest”, O.K.?
The shareware if five bucks, which Mr. silver should send me for wasting my online time by downloading this. I take solace only in that I can warn the rest of you about garbage like this.
Last Month, we compared having a direct Internet connection using an Internet Provider vs. using a major Online service, such as America Online. People who spend 12 hours or more online per month using a major Online service had a bill that was higher than the fee an Internet Provider would charge for Unlimited Internet access. So if you find your Online expenses increasing, upgrading to a dial up PPP account with an Internet Provider could save you a substantial amount of money and give you an unlimited on-line experience. The World Wide Web is also quickly becoming more graphically friendly and will make expensive online services obsolete.
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A little prelude before we get to the “interview”. First, as David is a very busy person, and I work many hours for the Postal service each day, a live interview was simply not fesable. So this interview can be seen more as a
Q & A via email.
Second, I read many Mac related columns and articles each week, but only count a select few as “must reads” each and every month. The Desktop Critic is at the top of that list. It is the first page I turn to in Macworld when I open a new issue. And if I cannot, for some reason, wait until the new issue hits the stand, I will download it from AOL’s “Macworld online”. So it was great pleasure for me when David Pogue agreed to this “interview”.
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Mac & PowerMac Secrets 2nd. Edition
Price: $39.95
Publisher: IDG Books
It is not easy for a writer who usually writes about software to do a review on a book, but I will attempt to do so. Many good things can be said about Macworld Mac and Power Mac SECRETS, from it’s comprehensive index, the pleasant writing styles of David Pogue and Joseph Schorr, and the usefulness of the information provided within it’s one thousand plus pages.
The word “SECRETS”, as you can see, is huge on the cover. And while there are indeed many secrets within, it provides much more information than simply revealing some OS and programing secrets. It is more like a directory to your Macintosh. For instance, the writers go so far as to tell you not only what is inside your System Folder, but what each of them actually do. Very helpful information for both new users, and for troubleshooting as well.
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Select Phone
Price: $99.00
Company: Pro CD, Inc.
90 million business and residential listings. That’s what the ad for Pro CD’s Select Phone states. Impressive. And so is the six discs and programs you get when you buy this handy CD Rom set.
Many features grace this program. You can, of course, search for a name or address. You can click on a button to find out who lives next door to that person. You can enter a SIC code for looking up business of a certain type, like Macintosh vendors in the 90215 area code. You can search for phone numbers numerically adjacent to the one you choose. Heck, Select Phone even has the ability to dial the number for you!
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Many of you have written in asking me to print more tips and trick, so I will try to do just that. If you have a tip or trick, and wish to share it with other mac users, send it in! I will print as many as you send in, and try to test them all beforehand to verify that they do work.
America Online Software Tips.
Do you have a document or picture you have been unable to open? Simply use the “open” command from the AOL software, select the file, and viola! AOL software is very good at opening the strangest things. I have had a few picture files that Graphic Converter, my favorite stand by, has been unable to open, but AOL did with ease!
Do you have a file you want to stuff, but do not have Stuffit? Once again, AOL comes to the rescue! First, select “Compose Mail”, then choose “Attach file”. Next you will be asked to select the file you wish to attached to you email. After you have done so, select “compress file”, at which time AOL will ask you to save the stuffed file, with .sit at the end. AOL will now stuff that file. After this is done, simply close the letter, and do not save. You now have a stuffed file! Also, the reverse is true. If you have a compressed file, and do not have the correct software (like a .zip file) , you can use the “Open” command to select that file. AOL will expand it for you!
You do not need to be online to do use any of these tricks.
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Folder Fun 1.0
This neat little program has one feature only: to create as many folders as you want at blazing speed. And I do mean blazing! Simply click one Folder Fun, select how many folders you want to create, select where you want them, and presto! Each folder is listed 1-2-3 and so on, not “Untitled 1, Untitled 2, ect..”
Matthew Nolan, creator of Folder Fun, has made it freeware, so it will not cost you a dime. (Nice guy, eh?). You can do a Keyword search of “Pioneer Software” to find it on AOL. Or write to “PioneerSW@aol.com” for locations via the Internet.
I tried Folder Fun 1.0 out, and found no problems at all. To be honest, and I told Matthew this myself, I am not sure why someone would really need it for? I cannot imagine a reason anyone would need 100 empty folders? But, if you do, and want them NOW, then Folder Fun 1.0 is for you!
MAXRam 1.6
This is one shareware utility that ALL users of Connectix’s Ram Doubler should have!
MAXRam will increase Ram Doublers multiplier value from 2 to 6. What does this mean? Well, if you have 8 megs, and use Ram Doubler, you will get 16. With MAXRam, you will get 48! Of course, this is only 48 megs of “virtual” memory, just like Ram Doubler’s 16.
MAXRam 1.6 ONLY works with Ram Doubler 1.6. If you have a older version, you can upgrade free of charge by downloading Ram Doubler 1.6 updater, found on all the major BBS’s, online service’s, or via the internet at “support@connectix.com”.
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Performa 6300CD
Price: $2,799
Company: Apple Computer, Inc.
Here is the computer for the experienced high-end home computer user! With 100 megahertz of raw power, and 16 megabytes of RAM, this computer is powerful enough to handle all of today’s power hungry applications. And, with the expandability that it offers, it has room to grow with you. The 6300CD also offers a internal apple 600i quad speed CD-ROM drive, a 1.2 gigabyte hard drive, and a 28.8 internal modem with built in speaker phone and digital answering machine. It also comes with a built in Apple Superdrive floppy disk drive, built in speakers, an Apple Plain Talk microphone, and 16-bit stereo sound. The multiple scan 15″ display wraps up the package. Everything but the mouse pad!
The 6300CD also comes pre-loaded with the norm for Performa’s, such as At Ease, eWorld with internet access, Claris Works 4.0, Quicken5, Mac Gallery Clip art, Click art Performa collection, Mac Link Plus Easy Open Translators, The American Hertiage Dictionary, Virex, The 1995 Groiler Multimedia Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, Maxis Widget workshop, Club kid soft CD, and much more!
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The start of another brand new year. Time to sit down and make a list of resolutions that always seem to lose their importance as soon as February approaches. I thought that maybe I would prepare a few, just to save everyone some time and effort, and get everyone in the proper frame of mind to start off the new year. OK, here we go –
Resolution #1 – I will no longer call myself or anyone else a MAC Fan (short for fanatic)
Being classed as a “Mac Fanatic” to the rest of the world has taken on strange connotations, like – “Poor man, he can’t understand that DOS/WINDOWS 95 is the only way to go.” or “Doesn’t she understand that the MAC is dead?!” Besides, there are enough fanatics in the world to begin with. However, being a Macintosh Enthusist, I will continue to sing the praises of the MAC Operating System to those poor lost souls from the lands of DOS and WINDOWS every chance I get.
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I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and have made the customary trip to the store to exchange that sweater for the correct size? I have, and I think the checkout lane was shorter on Christmas eve!
I would like to welcome Mike Wallinga, writer and editor from Wall Writings. Mike, being very busy, had to give up publishing a whole issue month after month, so I am happy to include Wall Writings as a part of My Mac. Look for it this and every month.
By the time most of you read this, the Web page will be up and going! Very special thanks to Evan McCarthy for taking on this project! Sorry that I cannot give you the URL yet, but as we “go to print”, we are not sure ourselves! I will have more details next issue.
This month, a new feature called “The My Mac Interview” debuts, with an interview of everyone’s favorite desktop critic, David Pogue. I hope to bring you more interviews in the future, but nothing is planned as of yet. It not easy convincing people to do it, let me tell you! David is the first, and I cannot thank him enough for his time. Look for it in this issue!
That’s it for now, as I want to keep this page short. This is the largest issue to date, and I do not want it to get too much bigger!
Tim Robertson
Comments. Be heard!
MyMac Podcast #385
MyMac Podcast #384