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My Mac Magazine #21, Jan. '97
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Welcome
Hi there! Welcome to My Mac Magazine for the month of January. Wow, it's 1997 already, and I must say that the time has been flying by! With this issue, My Mac takes on a new look, thanks to the icon Jason Rainbows made for My Mac. Thanks, Jason! A new icon was needed. Russ has a really great My Mac Interview with Jason in this issue, well worth reading. Of course, if you're reading this on the Web site, you may want to see what it looks like, so look up above, and there it is! A great icon from an Icon master. This marks the third icon that we've had, the first was created by yours truly, while Adam made the second.
One year ago...
Last year at this time, I welcomed Mike Wallinga and Adam Karneboge to the pages of My Mac. Adam started out writing reviews, which he still does, and has "graduated" to become our Web Master. Mike started "Wall Writings" here in My Mac after his own ezine of the same name stopped shipping. A whole year later, and they're still here. Wow. Both Pete and Russ were celebrating their one year anniversary two months ago. I want to thank them, and everyone else who makes My Mac what it is today. The writers, artists, and editors. Thanks, gang! Without you, I would have given up this gig a long time ago!
Stuff
Apple. NeXT. System 7.6. Steve Jobs. All these things, and more, are tearing up the news services as of late. Big news, sure, and a little overwhelming, too. Just what is going on in the Mac world right now? Don't ask me, I just live here! But I do have some thoughts!
I'm glad Apple finally did something. While I'm not sure if buying NeXT is a good thing or not, I can say I'm just glad they did something. Anything to quiet all the rumors. Of course, many people are now moaning about the decision to buy NeXT, though not so many about Apple's co-founder, Steve Jobs, coming back into the fold. Me? I think it's too early to say, one way or another. But I can say with all confidence that Apple is long from dead, as the press was reporting this time last year. And that, I think, is the best news of all.
Tim
Spell Catcher (an update)
For those My Mac readers who are using a 6200 series Mac, please be aware that I have just found out that there is a "bug" in Spell Catcher 1.5.6 (that Casady and Greene have fixed in a soon-to-be-released version 1.5.7) that seems to occur on some 6200's. Basically, when you install SpellCatcher on your 6200 series Mac, it will not install properly, will advise you that you need to drag the Control Panel into the System folder (even though it's already there), or will conflict with just about any extension in your System Folder. Meanwhile, the work-around is simple, just rename the Spell Catcher Control Panel to something like "aSpell Catcher" so it loads earlier. Casady and Greene advise that the upgrade to the "bug-free" version will be free, just your time spent downloading it will be your cost. When I get word of the upgrade, I'll post it here in A Few Words.
Russ
How much?!?!
Look, I don't expect every system upgrade from Apple to be free, like System 7.5.3 was. But did you know that System 7.6 will cost between $70 to $100? That's right, you read those numbers right. $70 to $100! For 7.6! Funny thing is, much of what 7.6 consists of upgrades you can download for free from the Internet. No, I don't think it should be free, but I feel $25 is a much fairer cost. Besides, Apple plans to release another update soon thereafter in July. Will that one also cost, or will it be a free upgrade for system 7.6 owners? Who knows! I doubt even Apple does yet. Of course, that release (7.7?) will consist of the Appearance Manager.
Tim
Claris's Christmas Present
For those of you who haven't already done so, go up to the Claris Web page at:
http://www.Claris.com/ or, on AOL (keyword Claris) and download the FULLY operational version of Claris Em@iler. They're happily providing version 1.1v3 of Em@iler (US version only) for the public to download, so that you will better appreciate the outstanding quality of Claris software. (And to increase their market share when the next version, Em@iler 2.0, ships in early 1997) This is the EXACT same, fully operational version that I went out and spent my hard earned money on back in June. I should have known better...
Russ
What do YOU want?
What do you, the average Mac user want? Cyberdog? OpenDoc? Open Transport? Or the Appearance Manager? I bet, and this is only a guess on my part, that the majority of Mac users want the Appearance Manager more than anything else. At least, that's what I'm told from those I've asked. The Mac is a cool computer. The Appearance Manager will make it even "cooler." (The Appearance Manager will be a control panel that will change the look of your desktop, much like the ~Aaron extension now does.) And that's what you want, right? Come on, you can tell me!
I want it. More than all the "Open" and "Cyber" stuff together. Cyberdog is available right now, but how many of you use it? How many of you use Netscape Navigator? I'll lay odds more of you use Netscape than Cyberdog. Heck, I would lay odds more Mac users are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer than Cyberdog. And I would also bet more are using TCP/IP to connect to the Internet than are using Open Transport.
Which brings me back to the Appearance Manager. That's what people want, but Apple won't give it to us. They just keep us waiting. If Apple were smart, they would give 7.6 away, or at least sell it at a very low price, and then sell 7.7 with the Appearance Manager for $100. It's what you want. It's what I want. But what do we get? Cyberdog. Yippie!
I have also read that the first NeXT Mac OS will look like the NeXT system. Oh, joy! Tell me, if you had a choice between the Appearance Manager and the NeXT look, what would you choose? My point? Perhaps I don't have one. All I know is soon we will have a cool looking computer. Soon, we will have multi-tasking and protected memory. Soon.... but not today. For now, we've got Cyberdog, and all the fleas that go with it.
Tim
Apple's CFM-68 Runtime Enabler
Apple has recommended that the owners of ALL Macs with a 68K processor disable the CFM-68K Runtime Enabler by using an extensions manager or removing it totally from your System Folder. Some applications using the CFM-68 RE may cause your Mac to crash. Be aware that this problem does not apply to Power Macs. Originally designed for Power Macs, Apple redesigned the CFM (Code Fragment Manager) for 68K Macs for ease of use with Power Mac apps. Apple is working on a fix, but, like everything else Apple is working on, there is no set date for delivery.
Russ
New Year's Wishes
From the staff, writers, artists and reviewers of My Mac, we want to wish our readers the very best wishes for a safe and prosperous New Year. May all your Mac wishes come true!
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