SimCity 3000
Company: Maxis/Electronic Arts
Estimated Price: $49.95
http://www.simcity.com

SimCity, first released in 1989, is believed by many to be the greatest simulation game of all time. Revised as SimCity 2000 in 1993, sales eventually exceeded an incredible 5 million copies to devoted fans worldwide. With a customer base like that, it’s easy to see how 1998′s announcement of an even better version was anticipated by some of its fans with jubilation; the game that gave them complete charge of the fate of a virtual city was going to get a healthy boost of realism, detail, and control.

Unfortunately, for almost a year now, the only people cheering about SimCity 3000 have been PC users. Now, with the release of the Mac version, Maxis has shown a renewed commitment to Macintosh development, and Mac users have been introduced to the new king of simulation games, SimCity 3000.

Background
The third incarnation of SimCity is still based around the same principles and fundamentals as the original SimCity. You are the mayor of a city, and your job is to make the city grow and flourish. The ride is not an easy one, however. Along the road you will have to keep up with the demands of your sims, in categories such as education, transportation, and utilities, all while maintaining a balanced budget.

Improvements
What makes SimCity 3000 different from its predecessor is the interesting way it draws players into the game. The user interface has been completely redesigned to be more intuitive and now features buttons that group options together, thus making it much easier to build what you want. For example, under the transportation button, you can build roads, highways, rail, subways, and more (see following screenshot).

It’s now also easier to monitor what is happening within your city. The newspaper has been replaced by a news ticker, and new advisors and petitioners give a whole new meaning to “hot under the collar.” If you’re not doing something right, they’ll let you know! You can now select a building map up to four times as large as SimCity 2000, and new zoning options, business deals, and disasters make the gameplay all the more involved. Additionally, one of my favorite improvements is the ability to fully interact with your neighboring cities, connecting water and power as well as roads and rail to them. Once connections are made, you can buy and/or sell water, power, or even garbage to neighboring cities. As I quickly found, it’s a great way to make some extra money!

Undoubtedly the most significant improvements, however, are the new close-in zoom levels and awesome graphics and sound effects. All of the buildings are 3-D rendered, and the map now offers full rotation (unlike SimCity 2000 where this was “faked”). SimCity 3000 includes 5 zooming levels, allowing you to see individual sims and their vehicles traveling around the city. As you can see in the screenshot below, the detail of the zooms is incredible!

The new 3-D sound engine is equally impressive. It reflects the type and condition of the part of the city you’re viewing. For example, if you’re in a residential zone, you’ll hear birds singing and children playing, while in industrial zones you may hear the sounds of chemical manufacturing and other types of blue-collar jobs.

Making the transition
Switching from an earlier incarnation to the updated version is hard with any computer program. Fortunately, Maxis has done everything they can to make the switch to SimCity 3000 as seamless as possible. They have included a great tutorial especially for SimCity 2000 players, noting the differences and improvements. They have also given players the ability to import their SimCity 2000 cities into the new version, all while retaining the majority of its infrastructure. The imports of a few of my SimCity 2000 cities went well, yet all of them still needed some touching up and adjusting to life in 3000.

Ported
My one and only complaint with SimCity 3000 is that it was ported directly from the Windows 9x platform, with no thought given to adjustments that need to be made for the Macintosh. From the very start the crudeness of the port shows because of the Windows mouse pointer! That’s right: it’s a big, all white pointer, not the black pointer we have all grown to love. All of the game’s dialog and information boxes take on a very Windows 9x feel, and pressing the Return key for the default option does not work in most of the windows. Even scrolling around your city without the keyboard is now only accomplished by depressing the Control key while holding down the mouse button, the equivalent of a Windows 9x “right-click.” Fortunately, Maxis has included a host of hot key combinations which make navigating around SimCity 3000′s new interface much easier.

Requirements/Availability
SimCity 3000 includes dramatic improvements, and with those improvements come steep system requirements. The list of minimum requirements requested a 200MHz PowerPC (G3 recommended), 32MB RAM (64MB recommended), 128MB RAM with Virtual Memory enabled, and 260MB of hard disk drive space.

My system exceeds the recommended requirements, so I figured it would stack up nicely. I have a 250MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 192MB real RAM, and a 10GB hard disk. The city pictured in the screenshots, called “Second to None,” is the city I created for this review. It is now almost halfway developed, and has a population of just under 500,000 sims. While the gameplay is not sluggish, it could be much better, especially considering my system configuration exceeds the recommended requirements. A bit of advice: If you really want to upgrade to SimCity 3000, make sure you have the system to handle it!

SimCity 3000 is available immediately at the price of $49.95, and can be ordered direct from the EA store, at http://www.eastore.ea.com. Additionally, the SimCity web site, at http://www.simcity.com includes tips, tricks, and other features to maximize your SimCity 3000 experience, and features a city exchange section, amongst others.

The Summary
SimCity 3000 is a vast improvement over its predecessor. Its new zooming levels, advisors, and simulation elements give you a whole new sense of reality, and its interface and navigation improvements make managing your masterpiece a whole lot easer. Unfortunately, with these vast improvements come steep system requirements, and if your system is not up to par, the game will cause you more headaches than fun.

However, if you have a G3 and a good chunk of RAM, the upgrade to SimCity 3000 is a must. Despite the less-than-stellar port from the PC platform, new users and old veterans alike will agree: nothing matches the reality and detail that SimCity 3000 brings. Now, thanks to Maxis, SimCity 3000 brings this reality to your Macintosh. The thrill that such an in-depth simulation game provides is the reason I Recommend SimCity 3000 for Macintosh users with adequate systems.

MacMice Rating: 3

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.simcity.com
http://www.eastore.ea.com

Terry Morse GoClick 3.0
Company: Terry Morse Software, Inc.
Estimated Price: $159.00
http://www.terrymorse.com

I must admit I was skeptical when I began this review. It was just a year ago that I had my first encounter with Terry Morse Myrmidon 2.0 right here in My Mac Magazine. Unfortunately, at that time I found it caused me more headaches than converted documents. But Web publishing has come a long way since then, and new products have emerged tempting even the most experienced webmasters into laying down their tried and true text editors in favor of easier WYSIWYG applications. GoClick 3.0 is Terry Morse Software’s latest product, and unlike previous versions, it doesn’t disappoint.

1-2-3
Like Myrmidon, GoClick is really a chooser extension that is treated as a printer. When you select “print” from the file menu of your application, GoClick can easily convert the document into HTML for you. This approach is particularly advantageous because any program you select “print” from will allow you to convert its document into HTML.

After selecting “print,” you can easily fine-tune GoClick 3.0 to your exact specifications. You can have it use HTML 3.2 instead of 4.0/CSS for example, allowing you to make your pages compatible with the majority of 2.x and 3.x browsers. Other options include the ability to specify color palettes and link colors. And just like Myrmidon, GoClick includes a superb HTML-based manual with instructions on how to get the most out of converting documents with GoClick.

However, some people are impatient and don’t like to mess with petty options just to get the program to work. This is one of GoClick’s biggest improvements. It now correctly converts documents straight out of the box, and its options are simply that: options that can be adjusted if you want. If not, you’re good to go in just one click, just as advertised. I like that!

Into the Code
GoClick’s other huge improvement over Myrmidon‹and huge advantage over almost every other WYSIWYG-type program out there‹is that the HTML it produces is relatively clean. Bloated code has long been a webmaster’s biggest excuse for not using WYSIWYG editors, but GoClick has made quantum leaps in its code-creation which now makes it a viable option for web content creators near and far.

Requirements/Availability
GoClick 3.0 requires a 68020 processor or better, and is fully optimized for the PowerPC. It needs System 7.5 or higher and any version of QuickTime to function. A free, fully-functional demo of GoClick can be downloaded at http://www.terrymorse.com and used for 30 days, at which time you can immediately register online and obtain a serial number.

The Summary
GoClick 3.0 is one of the most useful applications I have used in a long time. True to its name, it converts any Macintosh document into a web page with a single click. Only this time around, it really works. Not only does it fully support CSS and the latest advances in HTML 4.0, it converts documents flawlessly, separating graphics and text with ease, and saves you countless hours converting your documents into HTML.

Terry Morse Software claims that GoClick 3.0 is not a replacement to Myrmidon, and that it’s only a “professional version.” While I haven’t used Myrmidon in quite some time, previous experience tells me that GoClick is a “must” upgrade. One-click web publishing has finally been made a reality by GoClick. Best of all, the price is right for this professional-quality product. Perhaps WYS can be WYG after all. Highly Recommended for webmasters everywhere.

MacMice Rating: 3.5

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.terrymorse.com

Cythera 1.0.2
Author: Ambrosia
Shareware: $25
http://www.ambrosiasw.com

Mike: Every game that Ambrosia Software releases is met with great anticipation and expectation, and their latest offering is no different. This time, Ambrosia breaks from their usual mold of fast-paced arcade games to give Mac users a complex, elaborate role-playing game called Cythera.

Adam: I’ll be the first to admit that Cythera was not what I was expecting… and while I’m a bit disappointed with the role playing-oriented game, it does show the polish that we have come to expect from Ambrosia.

Mike: I’m not a big role-playing aficiondo either, so Cythera did have a tough time keeping my interest. The pace of the game is slow and meticulous, but so are most RPGs, and fans of the genre should find plenty to like with Cythera. In terms of quality, it is everything we’ve come to expect from Ambrosia.

Adam: In the game, you have been transported away from your home by Cythera’s inhabitants, and your job now is to save the land. In order to do that, you must explore the city while solving challenging puzzles and battling enemies along the way.

Mike: The graphics aren’t flashy, but are well-done. The three-quarters aerial view is similar to that of games like Diablo. In fact, the entire game can be compared to Diablo, but with a bigger story, more talking and interaction among characters, and less hack-and-slash fighting.

Adam: The music is also pleasant, and the controls are fairly intuitive. But then again, we’ve come to expect nothing less from Ambrosia.

Mike: Cythera does a good job of holding your hand early in the game, requiring you to get the hang of basic commands and actions before you can advance too far. The puzzles start out fairly simple and get increasingly harder. Overall, the learning curve is nearly perfect, and the difficulty level will keep even the most seasoned RPG veterans coming back for more.

Adam: But what makes Cythera really shine is the way it captivates even the fiercest arcade gamers around. Whether or not you like role playing games, you’ll like Cythera because it doesn’t immediately seem like one, and before you even call it a role playing game you’re already way too immersed in it to stop.

Mike: Agreed. The storyline is rich and full of twists‹you’ve been presented with a possible double-cross by one of the major characters before you’re even five minutes into the game. Cythera’s plot is as good as most mystery novels, and even if you’re not a RPG fan, you find yourself playing just to find out who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy.

Adam: Cythera is also very interactive‹decisions you make early in the game can effect who characters treat you and what help you receive later in the game!

Mike: Cythera was written using a versatile game engine named Delver, and if Cythera turns out to be the rousing success that it should be, you can expect other role-playing-games based on the Delver engine to start appearing soon.

Requirements/Availability
Cythera requires a 68040 or better processor, 12 megabytes of hard disk space, and 12 megabytes of free RAM. It can be downloaded directly from Ambrosia’s website, http://www.ambrosiasw.com, or from any other Internet software library, such as CNET’s Download.com http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: Cythera is a very rich, immersive role-playing game that fans of the genre will love. Personally, I tend to like my battles in real-time and my action a little more twitch-oriented, but I still liked Cythera nonetheless. It’s another good game from the pros at Ambrosia that deserves a look.

Adam: Immersing fans of arcade games into a totally different genre is never easy, but Ambrosia has taken that task head-on and succeeded. It’s for this reason that The Game Guys RECOMMEND Cythera for Macintosh gamers near and far.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.ambrosiasw.com
http://www.download.com

A Better Finder Attributes 1.2
Author: Frank Reiff
Shareware: $10.00
http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderAttributes

Frank Reiff’s “A Better Finder” contextual menu plugin series is perhaps one of the most useful sets of contextual menus available for download today. The latest addition to the family, A Better Finder Attributes, is no exception. A Better Finder Attributes allows you to quickly change creation and modification dates, custom icon and invisible bits, and many more properties of a file or folder quickly and easily, all without using ResEdit. Additionally, you can create mini droplet applications for recording repetitive tasks and repeating them simply by dropping them on the droplet application you created. Neat!

The Summary
A Better Finder Attributes is a superb piece of shareware that attests to the quality of software produced by Mr. Reiff. $10.00 may seem a bit steep, but it will pay for itself in the amount time you save. Recommended for software developers, FTP/file server administrators, and anyone else that deals with editing buried properties of files and folders.

FavorStrip 1.4
Company: Kykz’s Software
Shareware: $10.00
http://www.246.ne.jp/~kykz

FavorStrip 1.4 is a simple, yet useful, control strip module. It automatically categorizes all of the items in your Mac OS 8.5.x “Favorites” folder into five distinct categories: Applications, Accessories, Documents, Folders, and URLs. There’s more to FavorStrip than meets the eye, however. You can easily add, remove, and display the originals of any item in FavorStrip’s menu.

However, most of FavorStrip’s features can only be specified by holding down certain key combinations while opening FavorStrip. It would be very helpful to have a separate application that could control these types of settings and apply them to the control strip module.

The Summary
FavorStrip is a neat piece of shareware that will quickly and easily reduce clutter in your “Favorites” folder, especially if you have a great deal of items in the folder. If you want to get into the more advanced features of FavorStrip, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of key combinations to remember. But, if you just want a quick piece of software for a reasonable price that will enhance your system, then I recommend you give FavorStrip a try.

Wapp Pro 2.0
Author: Jérome Foucher
Shareware: $10.00
http://come.to/beastieit

Wapp Pro is a fairly new, but extremely useful piece of shareware that allows you to switch windows embedded in applications via a simple pull-down menu. However, you can do much more than just switch between windows. Wapp Pro allows you to quit or hide applications quickly and easily from within the Wapp Pro menu.

Wapp Pro is extremely customizable, allowing you to have keyboard shortcuts for both window and application switching. It puts superior control of the behavior of the switching at your fingertips, allowing you to set the behavior of the “Quit All” and “Hide All” commands, for example. Wapp Pro also allows you to “exclude” applications that prove to be incompatible with Wapp Pro’s abilities, allowing you to maintain compatibility while still utilitizing Wapp Pro’s outstanding features.

The Summary
Wapp Pro is an example of a lesser-known, but unbelievably useful piece of shareware. A measly $10.00 shareware fee is nothing to ask for the usefulness that Wapp Pro brings to your system. If you’re looking to be more productive switching applications and windows, Wapp Pro may be just what the doctor ordered. Highly Recommeded.

Requirements/Availability: A Better Finder Attributes requires Mac OS 8.x. Both Wapp Pro 2.0 and FavorStrip 1.4 require Mac OS 8.5.x or higher. All three of these utilities can be downloaded at their respective URLs.

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Heretic PPC
Author: Brad Oliver
Freeware
bradman@primenet.com

Mike: We’ve reviewed some great shareware games in these pages before, but one type of game you rarely see a shareware developer write is a first-person shooter. This month, however, we review Heretic PPC, a freeware port of the PC game that never made it to the Mac.

Adam: It’s rare that you see a shareware developer port a game to the Mac, and even rarer to make it free. So when Mike suggested Heretic PPC, I thought we’d give it a try. While it didn’t fully work as advertised, it’s a great gesture to the Mac community. Is there a plot/storyline to this game, Mike?

Mike: The included Read Me file didn’t say much: “The object of this game is simple–shoot stuff and don’t get killed.” Like most first-person shooters of its time, Heretic relied more on trigger-finger reflexes and less on plot. The game, and its sequel, Hexen, was released by id Software in between its smash hits, Doom and Quake, and it’s set in a medieval setting rather than a futuristic, sci-fi one.

Adam: When Heretic PPC is first launched, it almost looks like it crashed. Your screen goes black and white, flashes a few times, and then a progress bar comes up to show the loading sequence. Once it’s loaded, you navigate with the arrow keys through the various options and into the game play.

Mike: Anyone who’s ever played Doom or another of id’s shoot-em-up titles will be right at home with the menu navigation and game play. It’s not always true to the Mac interface, and some commands are a little counter-intuitive, but what would you expect from a Windows port?

Adam: There are options for pixel doubling and tripling, but they looked horrible on my 1024×768 screen. And even though music was listed as an option, it failed to be produced on my PowerBook.

Mike: Since my screen has a maximum resolution of 800×600, I didn’t try the pixel doubling option, and kept the game’s resolution at its standard 640×480. The graphics looked dated, but acceptable at that resolution. Unfortunately, although I tried all of the tips listed in the Read Me, I couldn’t get any music while I was played, either.

Adam: One good thing is that it did render well on my PowerBook G3/250 (WallStreet) with the ATI Rage LT graphics chipset. However, it crashed numerous times throughout game play, so I had a tough time keeping interest in the game long enough to give it a fair review.

Mike: Excuse me while I express my jealousy at the fact that Adam *has* an ATI chipset in his PowerBook… OK, with that over, I can say that I never experienced the crashes that Adam did, for unknown reasons. I can attest that the game plays, well, like a first person shooter. You run around an intricate maze, searching for the exit, and killing all of the monsters in your way with your magic scepter. It doesn’t have the plot depth of Marathon, the graphics or Unreal, or the pure adrenaline rush of Quake II, but you don’t have to lay down a couple of twenty dollar bills to play it, either.

Requirements/Availability
Heretic PPC requires a PowerPC processor and System 7.5 or later. You can download Heretic PPC from Download.com http://www.download.com or any other Macintosh shareware archive.

The Summary
Adam: All-in-all, a freeware port of Heretic is a wonderful gesture towards Mac users, and for that reason, we can cautiously recommend it. However, if you have the crashes that I experienced, delete it. You’ll get more excitement out of seeing the trash can empty than you will playing the game.

Mike: Well put, Adam. I applaud Brad Oliver for making Heretic available to Mac users, but I hope that there will be an updated version in the near future that fixes a few bugs. If that happens, he will really have done Mac gamers a great service. Cautiously recommended by The Game Guys.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.download.com

Thrones 1.01
Author: Rocco Bowling
Shareware: $10.00
http://mgr.simplenet.com/cafe/atropos/thrones

Mike: This month, we deviate from our standard diet of action, arcade, card, and puzzle games to try a real time war simulation, Thrones. The strategy game has a lot of polish and is nicely put together, but when it’s all said and done, it’s not as much fun as some similar games out there.

Adam: I agree, Mike. Some shareware games are good enough that they could be sold as commercial. Unfortunately, Thrones is not one of them. However, you may feel differently, so we’ll take you through the game and let you decide. Mike, the story behind the game, if you would?

Mike: Well, Earth has fallen under the power of Hades, keeper of the Underworld. You are the king of one of the last human settlements on medieval Earth, and you must direct your armies to victory over the armies of the undead.

Adam: Thrones has a very easy learning curve, and thanks to the superb manual, I was up and fighting in no time. Thrones also includes several excellent scenarios that you can beat, and you can even create your own scenarios with the battle and army editors.

Mike: You have a great point, Adam. The HTML-based manual is very thorough, and the tutorial scenario is also well done. Between the included levels and the editor, you can be certain you’ll have hours of playing time, too. The website for Thrones even has a “Scenario of the Week” section and other scenarios for download that users have created themselves.

Adam: However, the burning question really is, how entertaining will the playing time be?

Mike: Unfortunately, the answer is “good, but not that great.” The excellent QuickTime-based graphics and sounds allow you to enjoy the game’s setting, but the game play itself is only mediocre.

Adam: For example, when you go to attack an enemy, even putting the game on the rabbit setting will leave you as slouched as a snail. Once the enemies engage in battle, it’s time to plan your battle strategy. But, again, that’s boring, also. The interface is horrible and once the battle begins, you’re left to watch the humans and skeletons fight to the death. When I was watching, though, all I wanted to happen was for the battle to get over with.

Mike: Yes. Planning your strategy is easy enough to do (Option-clicking on your armies brings up a pop-up menu of choices), but you are limited in what you can do. The ugly battle-planning screen is also a far cry from the rest of the game’s superb graphics.

Requirements/Pricing
Thrones requires a PowerPC-based Macintosh with 7 megabytes of hard drive space, 13 megabytes of RAM, System 7 or higher, and QuickTime 2.1 or later. The game costs $10 to register, and some parts of the game are crippled until it is paid for. Thrones can be downloaded from http://www.download.com or from the Thrones home page, at http://mgr.simplenet.com/cafe/atropos/thrones.

The Summary
Mike: Everything about Thrones adds up to a game that, as the cliché goes, “is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there.”

Adam: Well put, Mike. Thrones has well done graphics, and the price is right. Overall, it’s an excellent idea, but it needs a little cleaning up. Add some entertaining music, spice up a few parts of the game, and it’d be a winner. However, as Thrones stands now, The Game Guys cannot recommend it.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.download.com
http://mgr.simplenet.com/cafe/atropos/thrones

Sonata b2c2 (Named Mac OS 9.0 at Macworld NY)
Company: Apple Computers, Inc.
Estimated Release: Late Summer/Fall, 1999

Note/Disclaimer: This preview is based on early beta software, which is defined as software in a pre-release (test) stage of development. Therefore, please be aware that various features of this beta software are subject to change in the final release. Note also that at the time this article was written, b2c2 was the latest “seeded build,” which means any beta builds released after this preview are not covered. My Mac Magazine was presented the opportunity to explore this particular build of Sonata by an Apple developer who wishes to remain anonymous.

At the 1997 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple outlined its next three major OS updates for us: Tempo, which became Mac OS 8.0; Allegro, which was dubbed Mac OS 8.5 and now Sonata, which has yet to be named. Apple delivered in style on Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 8.5, and they are poised to be successful once again with Sonata. New OS updates are always exciting to explore, and luckily My Mac Magazine has an opportunity to take you on a tour of Sonata, Apple’s next OS upgrade. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Multiple Personalities
Perhaps the most exciting new feature in Sonata is its capability to handle multiple users on one computer, while retaining preferences such as Appearance and Internet settings. This feature has been promised to Mac OS users since Copland (Apple’s original bid for a modern OS), and it’s finally becoming a reality with Sonata. While Sonata’s multiple user capability is much easier to set up and maintain than Windows NT, for example, it is limited in the sense that it doesn’t allow more than one user to be logged in at a time. Still, it’s a big advance over Mac OS 8.6 and Apple’s current multiple user solution, At Ease 5.0 for Workgroups.

To set up multiple users, your name and password must be entered in the File Sharing control panel. Once this is done, an administrator or “owner” account is automatically created. Then, you can create other accounts for other users on your computer. There are three types of user accounts: Normal, Limited, and Panels. Each represents a different level of functionality.

Normal users have full access to the Finder and all its features. Administrators can limit a normal users’ ability to change their password and read other users documents, but they cannot limit features such as access to certain applications, Control Panels, or the Chooser. Limited users are still given a Finder interface when they log in, however the applications, disks, and other items which they have access to can be limited. You can also limit their ability to print to certain printers, or to print at all.

Users with a “Panels” account are given a much simpler alternative interface to the Finder, pictured above. There they can see only the applications and disks you give them access to. Furthermore, they can only access Control Panels, Apple menu items, the Chooser, and other removable media if the administrator allows it. If not, they are limited to just their Panels interface, making the risk of them changing vital system settings much less than in the current Mac OS Finder.

The Multiple Users control panel includes Global User Options, which are administrator specific preferences that are applied to all multiple user accounts. Features such as the ability to log in over a network, voice verification, and CD/DVD restricted access lists can be specified. Additionally, administrators can set a welcome message, be notified when new applications are installed, and log out or lock a user’s screen if they are idle for a certain period of time. Multiple User capability is a big step for the Mac OS that will most certainly change the way families, educational institutions, and business make use of their computers.

Voice Verification
Multiple Users are exciting, but the neatest feature of Sonata has to be voice verification: the ability to speak your password as opposed to manually typing it. Once you enable voice verification under the Global User options, you can set up an alternate password for each user. I had an extremely pleasant experience with voice verification, and its functionality is astoundingly well for an early beta build. I had to test the microphone, and then record my phrase four times. This is to assure that the computer learns your voice and the tone at which you speak the phrase. I was able to successfully use the phrases “My voice is my computer,” “Welcome to Speedy,” and “Zack is a child” as alternate passwords. Definitely cool, and very easy to use! Below are screenshots of the voice verification setup.

Sherlock the 2nd
Further enhancing ease of use in Sonata is the new version of Sherlock, which has been dubbed Sherlock II 1.0, as opposed to Sherlock 3.0. It has followed in QuickTime 4.0′s footsteps, becoming the third Apple-branded program to utilize the “smoothed” window interface. This radical interface change has received both good and bad reviews from the press. Nonetheless, Sherlock II has many exciting new features.

Sherlock II has been rid of the “tabs” appearance, and now uses channels to select which type of content you want to search for. Channels allow you to organize your Sherlock plug-ins, a big advance over the previous version. When you click on a channel, all of the search sites (plug-ins) available for that channel appear in the top section of the window, and after your search is complete, all results appear in the bottom part of the window. (See above Screenshot)

“Find File” and “Find by Content” have been combined into the “Files” channel, and separate Internet-related channels, such as “People,” “Shopping,” and “Sports” will allow Sherlock to custom tailor its content listing based upon what you are searching for. So, for example, if you are using the “People” channel, resulting columns will be “email address” and “phone number.” Searching in the “Shopping” channel will yield results appropriate to e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com, eBay, and others.

The “Internet Search Sites” folder now contains sub-folders of its own, each representing one channel. Plug-ins can then be placed in those sub-folders and will appear the next time Sherlock is launched. Overall, Sherlock II is an excellent advance in functionality over its predecessor, but the radical interface change may dull some of the cheers.

Safe and Sound
Amongst the many new features of Sonata are two new utilities that will make using your computer much easier, more efficient, and most of all, more secure. The first part of this system is the Keychain, which has been resurrected after its initial death as part of the PowerTalk software suite. The Keychain provides users with a way to store all their passwords in one central location, and then unlock all of them using a single password, via the Keychain Access control panel or the Keychain control strip. Users can specify what level of security should be taken when unlocking the keychain, such as having it automatically lock itself after a certain period of time or when the system goes to sleep.

The Keychain Access control panel supports multiple keychains, and also supports certificates, which are special types of encrypted passwords for use with different types of Internet services. It’s important to note, however, that for the true power of the keychain to be unlocked, applications will have to be updated, or “made aware” of the Keychain before the passwords you store in them can also be stored in the Keychain.

One Application that is already Keychain aware is Apple Secure Encryption, which gives users built-in encryption and compression accessible via drag-and-drop on the Apple Secure Encryption application. Users can also encrypt files via the “Encrypt” command available via the File menu or contextual menu.

The encryption technology that Apple uses is extremely secure, yet very easy to use. Double-clicking on the encrypted file will result in immediate decryption and opening in its creator application. Once the file has been worked upon, it can be re-encrypted just as easily. Encryption of files is very fast, and compression savings are generally good, though not nearly as good as Aladdin’s StuffIt technology.

Update Efficiently
One of the best features of QuickTime 4.0 is its ability to automatically search for updates with the QuickTime Updater application. Apple’s new Software Update control panel functions in a very similar way to the QuickTime Updater application, allowing users to check for updates available on Apple’s servers and subsequently download and install them. This will make it much easier for users to determine what updates they need, and it turn, make it easier for Apple to provide support to its users via updates. It’s a win-win situation.

Additionally, Software Update 1.0 features a scheduler which will allow you to specify times at which Software Update should automatically check for updates. Of course, Software Update requires an Internet connection to work, and if you have a dial-up connection, it might be better to manually check for updates unless you will be sure you will be connected at the time that Software Update is scheduled to hunt down updates.

Control Panels – new and old
Many existing control panels have been greatly enhanced, featuring new icons and interfaces. Additionally, all control panels, including true “cdev’s” run as their own process now, instead of running inside the Finder. Now all control panels appear to be running as applications, and you can switch back and forth between them with the application switcher or application menu.

All the changes listed here are to control panels that have been updated but were not covered in the above sections.

Vicomsoft Soft Router Plus 6.0.1
Company: Vicomsoft
Estimated Price: $155.00 (5 user)
http://www.vicomsoft.com

As more and more households take the plunge and discover the power of the Internet, home computers, once used just for simple word processing and game playing, have now become an indispensable asset to everyone in the family. And as family members begin to compete for time on the computer, the convenience of having more than one computer at a family’s disposal is becoming as apparent as that of having a second automobile.

Unfortunately, the traditional modem, still the only viable way to get on the Internet for most people, only allows one computer to get online at a time. Even new cable modems only allow one computer at a time, for one reason–the IP (Internet Protocol) address that they use is issued by their ISP (Internet Service Provider), and only one computer can be using a single IP address at one time. Have more than one computer using the same IP address and you have problems.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could “trick” your ISP into allowing more than one computer to share an Internet connection? It’s a method long used by schools and businesses that formerly could only be accomplished with costly hardware solutions. Now, with Soft Router Plus, you can bring the power of expensive firewalls and routers into your home, business, or even educational network, and in a fraction of the time.

Behind the Magic
Soft Router Plus uses a very simple method to allow more than one of your computers to share an Internet connection. You simply install Soft Router Plus on ONE computer in your network, which is the one that has the connection to the Internet, be it by modem, ISDN, cable modem, or any other type of connection. That computer acts as the router, or computer that routes all the other computers on the network through itself and on to the Internet. Only the router computer holds the real IP address. All the other computers use internal IP addresses, which can simply be made up by the network administrator, or issued by Soft Router Plus. Then, the ISP only thinks that one computer is using the connection. Pretty clever, huh? If this seems confusing, take a look at the simple diagram below showing multiple computers sharing one Internet connection.

Installation
My home network with Soft Router Plus installed is very similar to the one pictured above. However, before I installed Soft Router Plus, my 3 computers were already networked via 10 Base-T Ethernet. The TCP/IP preferences on each one were set up for each computer’s respective modem, and we simply traded off three phone cables between one phone jack on the wall.

It worked, but I wanted to have all three computers receive their Internet connection through the Ethernet network and not have to have a separate modem on each one. I wanted to have one modem shared by all my computers, so all my computers could be connected concurrently. Enter Soft Router Plus. I designated my Performa 6400 as the router and proceeded to install Soft Router Plus on it. Installation was clean and free of any problems.

Setup was even easier, thanks to the auto-setup application and extensive documentation that comes with Soft Router Plus. I verified that all my TCP/IP and modem setups were correct on the 6400, and then I used the Soft Router Plus auto-setup application to help me set up my network to share an Internet connection. It created the modem and Ethernet ports from my current settings, and let me intervene at any time. I assigned the Ethernet port the IP address 200.200.200.1. The TCP/IP control panel configures using PPP, lists 200.200.200.1 as its IP address, and keeps the same DNS addresses as the ISP has.

The remaining computers on the network, my PowerBook G3 and my 6100 are given the IP addresses 200.200.200.2 and 200.200.200.3, respectively, and retain the same DNS addresses as the ISP. Then, Soft Router Plus connected to my ISP through the modem port, and I was able to share one Internet connection between my three computers. I elected to not use the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server simply because I only had two client machines. Setups with larger amounts of clients may elect to take advantage of the DHCP assignment of IP addresses already built into Soft Router Plus.

Flexibility
Soft Router Plus can use this simple algorithm to connect as many computers as you want to one Internet connection. Instead of listing all the possible uses for Soft Router Plus, I’ll use some real-life examples that should better help you to understand how Soft Router Plus can benefit you.

Example #1: Small Home Network
Bob owns a Power Macintosh 6100 with an external modem. He has always been content with it, but couldn’t resist buying an iMac in the wake of Apple’s comeback. Since then, he’s been cruising the Internet at 56k speeds, and the rest of his family has used the 6100 for other purposes. Now, however, they are discovering how much fun the Internet can be, and it’s been a fight over who gets to use the Internet. So, Bob networks his two computers by Ethernet and buys Soft Router Plus. He designates his iMac as the router machine, and his 6100 as one of the client machines. He sets up two ports in the Soft Router Plus application, one for the modem, and one for Ethernet. Since his ISP obtains the IP address dynamically, he sets the modem port to obtain the address dynamically, and lets the very helpful Soft Router Plus setup wizard designate an IP address for the Ethernet port.

Then, he goes to his 6100′s TCP/IP control panel, sets it to Ethernet, and elects to manually configure the IP address. He finishes the simple TCP/IP configuration on the 6100, goes back to his iMac, tells Soft Router to connect via the modem port, and what do you know, he’s on the Internet. Soft Router requires very little processor time/resources, so it can easily run in the background while Bob uses Netscape to visit his favorite websites. In the meantime, his kids are on the 6100 chatting on AOL Instant Messenger at the same time. Best of all, Bob was up and running in less than 10 minutes because the Soft Router auto setup application did the majority of the work for him.

Example #2: Mixed Advanced Home Network
Daniel, an advanced user, has a cable modem connected to his 7600 via Ethernet. He also has an old 6100 lying in his basement, and has never bothered to network the two together. His wife now needs a Windows computer to work on, so he goes and buys a cheap Windows box with a NIC (Network Interface Card). He resurrects his old 6100, buys a 5-port Ethernet hub, and connects his three machines to ports 1, 2, and 3 of the hub. He then plugs his cable modem into the uplink port on the hub. He sets up his 6100 as the exclusive router machine, and assigns his remaining two computers IP addresses to correspond with his router machine. Daniel has a static IP address (one that never changes) with his ISP, so he configures the cable modem port to use this static address.

Since Soft Router Plus acts as a firewall in addition to allowing computers to share an Internet connection, Daniel can use any range of IP addresses he wants. As an added bonus, since both Macintosh and Windows can use TCP/IP protocols, having a Windows computer on the network doesn’t matter. Now, Daniel shares his superfast cable modem connection between him and his wife, while his old 6100 is put to good use once again. It doesn’t matter that his router machine is plugged into the same hub as the other two computers, because only his router machine is looking for the cable modem that’s plugged into the uplink port. His other machines look for the router machine, and forget that the cable modem is even there.

Example #3: Small Business Network
Patricia, who runs her own business, purchases a 256k ISDN line for her office of 10 computers connected via Ethernet. She has one static IP address from her ISP, but does not want to purchase 9 more for her other 9 computers, so she decides to purchase Soft Router Plus. Using a similar configuration to the one that Daniel used, she configures her network to share her fast ISDN line without purchasing multiple IP addresses. The same configuration would apply to locations with full T1 or fraction T1 connections.

Example #4: Large Business or School Networks
Zadlcom, a mail order catalog has two different networks in its headquarters, and they want both networks to share their expensive T1 line. Zadlcom can easily interconnect their two different networks using the simple algorithm pictured in the diagram below:

This type of interconnection could also occur between regular (10 Base-T) and fast (100 Base-T) Ethernet networks, or even between Ethernet and LocalTalk networks. Now, all the computers on both the networks use the same Internet connection courtesy of Soft Router Plus.

Options
Soft Router Plus has advanced options far and beyond the scenarios I described above. Soft Router Plus comes with a built-in DHCP server, which makes client configuration for a large network very easy. It comes with a Web Caching Server, which caches web content automatically, improving performance and reducing the amount of precious bandwidth taken. Furthermore, it allows you to not only interconnect separate LANs (Local Area Networks) in the same building, but also WANs (Wide Area Networks) that could be anywhere in the world. An example of this is pictured below.

Soft Router Plus even has a Remote Access Server built in so you can easily dial into it for Internet access. If you have a constant connection to the Internet, like cable modem or T1 line users do, but you have a modem at home, this comes in very handy! Basically, you get your Internet access for free at the expense of your employer (with permission, of course!).

Requirements/Availability
Soft Router Plus is available for both Mac OS and Windows 95/98/NT from Vicomsoft’s website at http://www.vicomsoft.com in a variety of packages to suit your Internet needs. Prices range from $190.00 for 5 users to $430.00 for unlimited users. Additionally, software can be purchased at a reduced price for online download only, as opposed to the traditional boxed packaging.

Soft Router Plus for Macintosh requires a PowerPC or 68040 processor with Mac OS 7.x or higher, 5MB of RAM, and 2MB of free hard disk space. If you want to take advantage of the WebCache server, Vicomsoft recommends you have at least 100MB of available hard disk space.

The Summary
Soft Router Plus is an excellent product that is versatile enough to be applied to a number of different scenarios. Whether your network is home, educational, or corporate, if you have an Internet connection, Soft Router Plus will work for you. The thought and hard work that has gone into this product is obvious. And the added bonus of an optional firewall can make true internal TCP/IP networks a reality, without costing you an arm and a leg to purchase a range of IP addresses.

Soft Router Plus works with all kinds of networks, and performs well under pressure, especially with the low bandwidth of a modem connection. Moreover, when applied to a fast cable modem connection, the true power of Soft Router Plus shows through. And its superb documentation is always to help if you happen to run into trouble. If you’re looking for a low cost alternative to an expensive hardware router or firewall, Soft Router Plus is for you. Highly Recommended.

MacMice Rating: 4

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.vicomsoft.com

Style Master 1.2
Company: Western Civilisation, Inc.
Estimated Price: $29.00
http://www.westciv.com

Being a web designer certainly has its ups and downs. Keeping up with the latest technology is definitely a down! With the digital world constantly evolving, web designers near and far have to struggle to keep their websites up to snuff with the latest and greatest HTML standards. The My Mac website had last been redesigned in issue #35, and was due for a change. Sure, it was great in 1998, but it’s now 1999 and technologies such as HTML 4.0, DHTML, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are becoming commonplace on today’s more popular websites. Our website was aging.

Consequently, I knew that our next website redesign had to take advantage of some of these new technologies in order for us to stay on par with 1999 standards, namely Cascading Style Sheets. So, I went out and bought the outstanding DHTML Visual QuickStart Guide. A great book, let me tell you. However, the book can’t be on the computer with you every step of the way. Style Master can.

Your Knight in Shining Armor
Style Master is a Cascading Style Sheets editor and a whole lot more. Learning a new web standard is always challenging, and having a little help never hurts. Style Master includes an excellent tutorial to help you understand how CSS work, and what is the best way to implement them into your website. The tutorial guides you every step of the way, through the toughest parts of CSS. Then, when you have an understanding of how CSS work and how they are coded, the tutorial introduces you to Style Master. Once introduced to Style Master, the superb manual takes you through every aspect of the program in a plain-English fashion. It’s definitely one of the best pieces of documentation I’ve ever seen distributed with any program.

With Style Master, you don’t have to worry if you get every little bracket and semicolon in its proper place in the code, because Style Master does the coding for you, while still allowing you to manipulate it freely. Basically, Style Master conforms to your level of skill in CSS. For a novice in CSS, like me, I used all of Style Masters’ “editors,” such as the “Text Style Editor,” to create the style sheet I wanted. Then, as I got more advanced, I could easily manipulate the code by hand whenever I wanted, because it is always fully visible to you. In short, Style Master makes sure that WYS is WYG.

Style Master includes a superb interface, which fully complies with Mac OS 8.x interface standards. It lets you select which browsers to target, making sure that the style sheet you create will work in Netscape 4.x and Internet Explorer 4.x, for example. Style Master will even embed or link style sheets into your already existing HTML documents, making it easy to integrate it into your existing suite of HTML tools. Below is a picture of Style Master in action editing the mymac.css document, which contains the majority of the design elements behind our new website.

Requirements/Availability
Style Master is available in a 15-day unlimited demo version at Western Civilisation’s website at http://www.westciv.com. Users can purchase Style Master for only $29.00, a complete steal for this incredible program. Style Master is available in 68k, Power Macintosh, and Windows 95/98/NT flavors, and requires 4MB minimum available RAM. Style Master requires System 7 to function properly on the Macintosh.

The Summary
Style Master is essential for anyone involved in Cascading Style Sheets. Whether you are just learning them now, or have been using them for a year now, Style Master will work for you. It fully supports CSS-1 and CSS-P (CSS-Positioning), includes an awesome manual, and even checks your style sheet to make sure it will function properly with today’s popular web browsers. All in all, Style Master is a wonderful tool that should be on every web designer’s hard disk. Highly Recommended.

MacMice Rating: 4.5

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.westciv.com

Hi, everyone! For this special issue, we decided to take a look back at all of the games we’ve ever reviewed in this column–all 33 of them!!! We also looked for updates that have been released since we last reviewed the games, by searching Download.com, MacDownload.com, and the MIT Info-Mac HyperArchive. We may have missed a couple of minor updates, but this list is comprehensive to the best of our knowledge. Well, we’ve got a lot of games to do, so we’d better get started. Adam, why don’t you remind us what we reviewed in our first-ever Game Guys, all the way back in issue #15 (July 1996)?

Adam: Tetrix Max 2.8 is one of my all-time favorite games. It’s challenging level of play is unmatched by most shareware games today, and the quality of the game’s graphics and sound is excellent.

Mike: I agree, Adam. There are a lot of Tetris games out there, but Steve Chamberlain’s Tetris Max is the one that has stayed on my hard drive ever since our review. Unfortunately, Steve ran into some copyright issues and can no longer officially support the game, but he did update it to version 2.9 to fix bugs and improve compatibility.

Adam: You can download TetrisMax at ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/game/arc/tetris-max-29.hqx

Mike: The next game we reviewed was Hearts Deluxe 4.3, by Freeverse Software. It’s an excellent, polished game with the high quality we’ve come to expect from Freeverse. Fun and challenging gameplay, as well as good graphics, sound, and options, make this game a must for all cardsharks!

Adam: I totally agree Mike. Hearts made me a true card game-convert. So, what has Freeverse done with Hearts Deluxe since August ’96?

Mike: Freeverse has updated Hearts Deluxe to version 5.0, and the shareware fee has been increased from $15 to $19.95. In my opinion, though, it’s money well spent!

Adam: This one’s at http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/crd/hearts-5.hqx

Adam: In September, we became addicted to Mortal Pongbat, and just had to review it. Mortal Pongbat, a variation of the classic Pong, makes you get the ball past your opponent while trying to dodge draining shots from his lasers.

Mike: Yes, David Hirchfield really did a nice job in putting a unique spin on a video game classic. The twenty dollar shareware fee may be a little on the steep side, but all in all, Mortal Pongbat is a great game worth looking into!

Adam: Mortal Pongbat is so good, it hasn’t been updated, so we’ll just give you the URL:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/getit.bin?fcode=MC14336

Mike: In the next issue (Oct. 1996), we reviewed another redone arcade classic, MacBrickout 3.1 from Leapfrog Software. It’s a variation of the classic Breakout game, and very well done, at that. It’s one of my favorite shareware arcade games!

Adam: It was no secret that we were addicted to arcade games in October! However, the quality of these games was excellent, and MacBrickout was no exception. It’s still on my hard drive.

Mike: MacBrickout has since been updated to version 3.1.1a; the minor update squashed a few bugs. It can be found at: ftp://sunsite.anu.edu.au/pub/mac/info-mac/game/mac-brickout-311a.hqx

Adam: In November 1996 (Issue #19), Power Computing released new machines, and Mike and I discovered what went on to become my FAVORITE game, software or shareware, of all time: Mantra 1.0.2. Mantra was one of those games that had it all. The 2D overhead perspective was enchanting, the graphics were excellent, and the music was some of the most catchy I’ve ever heard.

Mike: Right on, Adam. The Syzygy Cult did an outstanding job with Mantra, which is similar in many ways to the Legend of Zelda series for Nintendo game consoles, and even released the game as freeware! Mantra has stood at version 1.0.2 ever since our review, and both Adam and I give it our absolute highest recommendation! But you don’t have to take our word for it:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/getit.bin?fcode=MC12421

Adam: It had been an excellent year for My Mac, but things couldn’t have been worse for Apple at the time. So, in issue 20 (Dec. 1996), we decided to return to better times for Apple, like 1993, when Shatterball 0.29a was written.

Mike: Shatterball is a brick-bashing game with a unique 3D perspective that made the game seem awfully similar to handball.

Adam: Shatterball is another game that still resides on my hard drive, and its combination of excellent sound effects and stunning graphics make it another favorite of mine.

Mike: Like Adam said, Shatterball is an oldie but definitely a goodie. It still hasn’t been changed since 1993, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth playing! See for yourself at:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/getit.bin?fcode=MC13385

Adam: Issue #21 (Jan 1997) brought a new year, and a new set of games for us. We decided to get away from the bricks, paddles, and balls and move to sports related games, such as PlayMaker Football 2.1.4.

Mike: The Super Bowl had me in the mood for football, and PlayMaker didn’t disappoint. With simple, yet nicely done, graphics and sound, the emphasis was on strategy and coaching over reflexes. PlayMaker Football has developed quite a following, and it continues to keep me happy (although I can’t wait for the Mac version of Madden 2000 to be released later on this year!) PMF has been updated to version 2.2, and can be downloaded at:
ftp://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/Info-Mac.Archive/game/playmaker-football-22.hqx

Mike: February saw the return of Steve Jobs to Apple, and our return to Tetris-related games. We decided to review 3Tris, which is a fun game that put the Tetris concept into a 3-dimensional space!

Adam: 3Tris is a game that required a lot of getting used to, and a lot of skill, but once I got the hang of it, I got it!

Mike: Exactly. 3Tris is very challenging, and you aren’t going to become an expert at it on your first try, but if you give it a chance, I think you’ll find it’s pretty addicting! Unfortunately, when we went to e-press, we couldn’t find a URL for 3Tris.

Adam: March 1997 brought Mac OS 7.6, a new logo for My Mac, and Foobar vs. the DEA to The Game Guys. Another wonderfully done game, I still play it occasionally to hear the catchy music and get the thrill of winning.

Mike: Even though most game consoles are saturated with shoot-em-ups, I’m a sucker for them, and I’m always excited when a well-done shooter comes to the Mac. Foobar was just the ticket for me! The vertically scrolling space fighter features cartoony graphics and stellar gameplay, and currently resides at version 1.1.4. See for yourself at:
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/arc/foobar-versus-the-dea.hqx

Adam: In issue #24, Mac OS 8 was unveiled, and The Game Guys unveiled MacSokoban 3.0.2.

Mike: This freeware gem by Ingemar Ragnemalm is a Mac version of the classic puzzle game Sokoban, where you move blocks around the screen and position them on “target squares.” Moving the blocks so that they all end up on the right squares takes a lot of thought and planning, especially in the later levels. This game can get tough!

Adam: MacSokoban is still at v3.0.2, and can still be had for the slender price of $15. Go get it!

Adam: That May, My Mac received a new look for issue #25. Game Guys, however, stayed constant with the previous month by reviewing another maze-game: BOOM 1.0.

Mike: And what a maze game it is! Federico Filliponi’s BOOM mixes the arcade game Bomberman with the plot and characters of DOOM, and it’s great fun! Strategically placing your bombs to blow up obstacles and enemies without harming yourself requires quick thinking!

Adam: In addition to having a great plot, BOOM has great graphics and superb music, two things that always make or break a shareware game.

Mike: That’s right – BOOM has a lot of polish. This well-crafted game is currently at version 1.1.4, and can be downloaded at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/boom-114.hqx

Mike: We reviewed Ortograf in June 1997, which is a Scrabble game for the Mac.

Adam: You can never go wrong with Scrabble, and you can never out-spell Ortograf! Download it today at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/brd/ortograf-10.hqx

Adam: By July 1997, Mac OS 8 was almost complete, but Monkey Shines was already well on its way to becomming another one of my all-time favorites.

Mike: Monkey Shines is high on my all-time favorite list, as well–the graphics are superb, the sound is great, and the game is just plain fun. A horizontally-scrolling arcade game ala Super Mario Bros, Monkey Shines has you jumping, running, and climbing all over the place! The current version of Monkey Shines is 1.2.1, and FantaSoft is also working on a sequel, Monkey Shines 2: Gorilla Warfare! I can’t wait! In the meantime, though, you can get the original Monkey Shines at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/arc/monkey-shines-112.hqx

Adam: August 1997 was quite an eventful month! Mac OS 8 was reaching customers, our website was redesigned, and The Game Guys got a new logo and also a great game to review in BEDLAM 2.

Mike: Bedlam 2 is a shoot-em-up reminiscient of the arcade game Galaga, and in addition to great gameplay, it provides excellent, informational cut scenes in between levels.

Adam: Bedlam took quite a bit of getting used to, but it was all around fun from the moment I first played it. Ground Zero has since updated Bedlam 2 to 1.0.6, and we recommend you download it at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/bedlam-2-106.hqx

Mike: While everyone was upgrading to OS 8, I was moving to college, and taking an ancient Mac LC to school with me! So, in September, we had to find a game that didn’t have very high system requirements. We still found a gem, though, in a sequel to our favorite game, Mantra II: The Blood of Saric!

Adam: Mantra II is my second all time favorite game, second only to the original Mantra, of course! While our first impressions were not what we expected, in the end, the Syzygy Cult didn’t disapoint.

Mike: I agree. Although similar to the original, Mantra II was just different enough to make it unique in its own right. It’s a great game, and all adventure game fans should get it at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/mantra-ii-102.hqx

Adam: Mike was so busy with school that we missed the October issue! But we were back in November. Apple began to Think Differently, but The Game Guys were forced to since Mike had downgraded to an LC, LOL! Thus, we reviewed the venerable Scrungle 1.0.

Mike: Scrungle had very simple graphics and a small game screen, but then again, it had to fit on my 12-inch monitor! The object of Scrungle was to push parts of the surrounding walls outward, squashing your enemies and providing protection for yourself.

Adam: Unforunately, we didn’t have quite as much fun as we wanted to with Scrungle, but you can decide for yourself. The download link is: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/scrungle-10.hqx

Mike: We ended the year with another fast paced puzzle game from Steve Chamberlain, Dr. Max 1.0. This game brought Nintendo’s Dr. Mario to the Mac, with great success.

Adam: Dr. Max was tetris with a twist. You had to match colors instead of fitting pieces. The great graphics and sound were bonuses to this wonderful game.

Mike: Once again, Steve’s had some problems with Nintendo’s legal eagles, so the game is officially unsupported. It’s very stable, though, and so much fun that it’s worth downloading at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/arc/dr-max-10.hqx

Adam: Apple began the year with a profitable quarter, My Mac rang in the new year with a new website, and The Game Guys did double duty reviewing a pair of well done games: NS-SHAFT and NS-TOWER.

Mike: The games complement each other: in NS-Shaft, you must travel down a never-ending chasm, trying to outrun the descending spikes. In NS-Tower, you climb a tower as high as you can, being careful not to fall to your doom!

Adam: Whether you like one, the other, or both, they can be downloaded at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/arc/ns-shaft-12.hqx
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/arc/ns-tower-25.hqx

Mike: In February 1998, the Department of Justice was investigating Microsoft, Apple released the OS 8.1 update, and Titanic was ruling the box office. It was also the month that Freeverse Software released CrossCards, a unique blend of Scabble and Poker that I found extremely enjoyable.

Adam: CrossCards had a great deal of quality and thought put into it. Make sure you get a feel for it before paying $15.00, though.

Mike: Luckily, you can try before you buy, by going to: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/crosscards-10.hqx

Adam: In March of that year, Apple re-entered the advertising scene, and Mike and I re-entered the world of 3D games with Sokoban 3D 1.0.1.

Mike: Remember MacSokoban, which we reviewed a few months ago? This game puts the exact same concept into a 3D, 1st-person game. Even if you’re good at the “normal” Sokoban, this game is really challenging! It’s nicely done, and a lot of fun, though!

Adam: Definitely. So much fun, that I have to recommend you download this up-close and personal game at: ftp://ftp.quadratic.com/software/Sokoban3D101.sit.hqx

Adam: In April of that year, My Mac got a new look, a new logo, and received its last major web update until the present, making it the most successful and longest lasting design in the history of My Mac. Mike was busy with school, and I was busy with the website, so we didn’t make the April issue. Fortunately, we returned in May, just in time for the release of Windows 98! We reviewed the excellent Bub & Bob 1.2.

Mike: I’m really glad that I got to run Bub & Bob this month instead of Windows 98! It’s a fun game, similar to the arcade classic Bubble Bobble. You are a little dragon, and have to trap the bad guys in bubbles and pop them using the horns on your head!

Adam: Bub & Bob is pure fun, and that’s all there is to say. There’s no reason not to download the new version 1.4 today at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/bub-and-bob-12.hqx

Mike: In June 1998, the Mac crowd was going crazy over Steve Jobs’ introduction of the iMac, but Tim was going retro in the pages of My Mac by reviewing a 128k Macintosh! We stuck to arcade games, though, and reviewed a pair of stellar shoot-em-ups, Mars Rising from Ambrosia and Project Magellan from PlaidWorld.

Adam: Mike and I were the PowerBook Power PC twins now, and thus we had to review some high-end games! Mars Rising and Project Magellan did not dissappoint. With superb plots, graphics and sound, they should reside on every gamers hard drive.

Mike: Mars Rising ($20 shareware) has received a minor update and is at version 1.0.2. Project Magellan ($24.95) has been updated to a new version, 3.1, which introduces faster game play and a new power-up scheme. Download them both today!
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/mirror-url.pl?MarsRising.bin
ttp://www.plaidworld.com/demos/PM_3_0_DEMOsit.bin

Adam: In July 1998, the Mac community was still red-hot with iMac fever. Microsoft released the long-awaited Office 98, and things were definitely looking up for the Macintosh. The Game Guys got (another!) new logo, and got a huge amount of work trying to decipher the amazing MacChess 4.0.

Mike: I’ve always liked chess, but never been very good at it. (OK, OK–I stink!) But I still made Adam learn how to play for this review! Needless to say, MacChess’s superb intelligence beat the pants off of both of us! If you’re a chess fan, though, MacChess is for you!

Adam: I almost killed Mike for doing it, and the funny thing is that I still don’t know how to play. Nonetheless, the new version 5.0 is now available, with lots of new features. If you like chess, and own a Macintosh, get MacChess. http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/macchess-501.hqx

Adam: In August 1998, Apple released the most successful PC in history with the iMac. My Mac’s cover said it all: The future was (and still is) looking bright! My Mac unveiled the new Mac OS 8.5, the AutoStart virus attacked the Mac OS, and The Game Guys got attacked by MacAttack 1.98.

Mike: In this Tempest-style game, it’s your job to attack a computer virus that has invaded “the net.” With fast-paced action, a variety of enemies, tough boss enemies, and an arsenal of weapons for you to use, MacAttack is a shot of pure adrenaline!

Adam: It’s almost scary when you play it, but you won’t have nightmares, I promise. Get the new version 1.99 today at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/macattack-199.hqx

Mike: In the next month, My Mac moved to its current home, with a new web server, and I upgraded my 4-month-old PowerBook 1400 with a NuPowr G3 upgrade! We reviewed the latest title from Ambrosia, (and the sequel to one of my favorite games)- Escape Velocity: Override.

Adam: In EV Override, you hyperspace in and out of different systems, gaining credits and becoming as successful or unsuccessful as you want.

Mike: If you’re into science fiction adventures, we recommend you check out EV: Override and, as Ambrosia says, “rediscover addiction.” http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/mirror-url.pl?EVOverride.bin

Adam: In October 1998, Mike Gorman’s daughter Gracie was born at the same time that the My Mac/World Without Borders Chat previewed; the iMac, born just a few months prior to Gracie was flourishing, and Mike forced me into reviewing another card game: the excellent Spades Deluxe 1.0.

Mike: In Spades, you try to collect as many “tricks” in each hand as you guess you will, and your score depends upon how well you work together with your partner. Since Spades is played with a partner, computer intelligence is important for when you want to play by yourself, and Spades Deluxe delivers. Tough computer opponents, with adjustable intelligence levels, and the usual options and quality from Freeverse make this game a winner.

Adam: A winner indeed. Download the excellent version 1.6 today at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/spades-deluxe-16.hqx

Adam: November 1998 brought the release of the wildly successful Mac OS 8.5 to the Macintosh, and the wildly wild Manic Minefields returned to My Mac in The Game Guys.

Mike: Adam had previously reviewed Manic Minefields, but this new version was my first bout with the game. All I can say is, those PC users you see playing Minesweeper for hours on end can only wish they had this one instead! Great gameplay and a low $7 shareware fee makes this game a surefire hit. See for yourself at: http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/manic-minefields-12.hqx

Adam: Mike and I missed #44, but in January 1999, My Mac saw the last Mike Gorman cover (until this issue!), the Mac community became hungry at the sight of the yummy iMacs, and The Game Guys got spooky with Kaged: The Magic Orbs.

Mike: In Kaged, you had to match up mystical orbs with the same patterns by moving them on the game board so that they were adjacent to each other. The only problem was, every time you made a move, the orbs changed patterns!

Adam: The really tricky part came when Mike and I figured out that you can’t beat Kaged! It’s impossible. The orbs just keep coming, I guess.

Mike: We couldn’t find a download site for Kaged, either. I seem to recall finding it on a MacAddict magazine CD-ROM. Sorry!

Mike: With the succes of the iMac, the Mac gaming scene was starting to build steam, too. Lucas Arts re-committed to the Mac, and Connectix released their PlayStation emulator, the Virtual Game Station. We stuck with a tried-and-true Mac game developer, however, reviewing Ambrosia’s latest offering, Slithereens, in issue #46.

Adam: Slithereens was everything I expected from Ambrosia, and more. The snappy, responsive gameplay along with excellent graphics and digitized sound made Slithereens a truly slimy experience!

Mike: It sure was addicting to move your snake around the screen, trying to eat the other snakes before they ate you! It sounds simple, but it’s got to be tried to realize just how much fun it is: http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/mirror-url.pl?Slithereens.bin

Mike: For issue #47, I participated in My Mac’s “browser rumble” argu… er, discussion, and we reviewed Royal Flush 1.2.1. The game is an example of what can happen when good intentions don’t quite pan out.

Adam: True, Mike. It’s like an unfortunate mistake. No bells and whistles, and no polish. To make matters worse, Royal Flush is completely imcompatible with Mac OS 8.x. Owwwwww!

Mike: People who are really desperate for a 70′s-style pinball game can give Royal Flush a look at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gp/Royal%20Flush/RoyalFlush.Bin. Otherwise, Adam and I recommend picking up one of the many inexpensive commercial pinball games.

Adam: In April 1999, Apple went Star Wars, and so did The Game Guys! In fact, we were so wrapped up in the new trailer that we forgot to review a game. However, we were back in issue #49 with Bubbles 1.3.

Mike: Bubbles features several different-colored spheres scattered around a rectangular playing grid. Your goal is to match up spheres of the same color, and move them adjacent to each other. Every time you move, four new spheres appear on the board. You keep matching colors and trying for a high score until the grid is filled and you can’t make any more moves.

Adam: It’s an exhausting and challenging game that everyone should take a look at. http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/game/bubbles-13.hqx

Adam: And that wraps things up! We hope you have enjoyed this look back through Apple, My Mac, and Game Guys history as much as we enjoyed writing it. We’ll be back to our old selves next month, so be sure to check back in. See you then!

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

DiskWarrior 1.0.2
Company: Alsoft, Inc.
Estimated Price: $69.95
http://www.alsoft.com

Owning a computer has its ups and downs, guaranteed. While the ups usually outweigh the downs, bad things do happen. Losing your hard disk containing all of your important files, applications, and other data certainly is no fun. What’s more, if you don’t have a backup, and utilities such as Apple’s Disk First Aid or Norton Utilities are unable to resurrect your disk, your data could be gone forever.

The reason Norton Utilities and Disk First Aid occasionally have problems repairing your disk is because the directory catalog is damaged. These tools attempt to repair a directory by patching over directory data, essentially deleting it and making the disk harder to recover. Fortunately, Alsoft’s DiskWarrior focuses solely on directories, looking at existing catalog data, collecting additional information the OS has stored elsewhere on the disk, and creates an entirely new catalog from all the information it has collected.

Since DiskWarrior creates a new directory catalog from all the information it collects, it can actually recover deleted files in addition to repairing disks. Moreover, if your directory is healthy to begin with, DiskWarrior will provide a noticeable speed increase, since the Mac OS can search clean, organized directories much faster than scattered ones.

The Interface
DiskWarrior is perhaps the easiest program you have ever used, period. There are no preferences to set, no options to skip, no “advanced” tests to do. You simply select what disk you want to run DiskWarrior on, and click “Rebuild.” DiskWarrior is much faster than other disk utilities, and it will fix all types of disks: hard disks, Zip disks, floppies, both in Mac OS Standard (HFS) and Mac OS Extended (HFS+) formats. After clicking rebuild, disk warrior will run through 10 steps including rebuilding the new directory. Once the new directory is created, you can use DiskWarrior’s preview mode, to “preview” what the disk will look like in the Finder. If you don’t want to preview the disk, you simply click “Replace,” and DiskWarrior will replace your existing directory, fixing any existing problems and preventing future data loss.

The Proof
While DiskWarrior claims it can repair your disks, the real test is using it to recover real damaged directories. Being a Macintosh technician at my university, I’m exposed to lots of computer problems. The first time I ever saw DiskWarrior in action is what made me a believer in this product:

The Machine: PowerBook 3400/240
The Scenario: The person had told me that they had experienced a typical system lock-up (frozen mouse pointer) the night before. When they turned the computer on the next morning, they got the blinking question mark. After starting up off of the Norton Utilities 4.0 CD, and attempting to repair it with Norton Disk Doctor, the disk was still not mountable, and Norton wanted a “FileSaver” file to repair the disk. Other disk repair utilities were used to no avail. I declared the disk “gone,’ and prepared to re-initialize.

That’s when one of my colleagues brought their DiskWarrior CD in. I started up off the CD, it recognized the unmountable disk, rebuilt the directory, and recovered the disk! The disk was fully bootable, and files that had been deleted more than a week before were now recovered.

The second time I had to use DiskWarrior, it was on a machine in our Macintosh classroom:

The Machine: Power Computing PowerTower Pro 225
The Scenario: The situation was similar to the previous one, however this disk was mountable, but not bootable. Running DiskWarrior again fixed the problem.

Requirements/Availability
DiskWarrior is available from Alsoft’s website at http://www.alsoft.com for $69.00. You can order it on-line and download it, or you can choose to have the CD sent to you. DiskWarrior requires a 68020 and Mac OS 7.1 or higher for Mac OS Standard (HFS) disks, and a 68040 or PowerPC for Mac OS Extended (HFS+) disks. The DiskWarrior CD is bootable, and will allow you to repair your startup disk by booting off the CD.

The Summary
Alsoft’s Disk Warrior is unlike anything I have ever seen. It offers the safest, most powerful disk recovery protection on the market today. What’s more, it fixed real world disk crashes, not laboratory-simulated ones. With an amazingly simple interface, and unsurpassed repair capability, DiskWarrior is perhaps the only disk repair utility you will ever need.

If you have ever lost a disk full of data because you didn’t have a backup, you know the feeling, and you know why you need DiskWarrior. My recommendation is to buy DiskWarrior today. It will fix a damaged disk, and will make a healthier one even better, optimizing it and preventing further damage. If you only buy one piece of software this year, buy DiskWarrior. You won’t regret it. Highly Recommended by My Mac Magazine.

MacMice Rating: 5

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.alsoft.com

>Bubbles PPC 1.3
Author: Maxym Runov
Shareware: $10.00
maxym@elegantsoft.com
http://www.elegantsoft.com

Mike: This month, we have chosen a puzzle game called Bubbles, by Maxym Runov. The author states in the Read Me that “the task is easy, but the way is hard,” and that’s a pretty good description of the challenge involved.

Adam: Bubbles is definitely a game that takes skill. It involves a good amount of strategy and a huge deal of thought. You can’t just go in and play, you have to think every time you move a ball. Now Mike, why don’t you tell us how Bubbles is played?

Mike: Sure, Adam. The game field is a rectangular grid, and the game starts with a set amount of balls (for example, 3) in random spots on the grid. The balls have both different colors and patterns, and your job is to move balls that look alike into rows of 5. However, every time you move a ball, 3 more appear in random spots in the grid, making it harder to move the balls to the places you want. You get points for every move you make, and additional points when you group 5 like balls together. The game ends when all of the spaces are covered.

Adam: Scoring in Bubbles is similar to scoring in Tetris, which means you go for as long as you can while accumulating points. You can play with a small, medium, or large grid, adjust the number of new balls that appear every time you make a move, and also set a limit on the amount of time allowed to move a ball before new ones automatically appear.

Mike: You’re right, Adam; there are lots of options in the game. If you don’t like the built-in grid sizes, you can even create your own playing field of any size you want! Additionally, the game is very easy to control; everything is done with the mouse, and is very straightforward.

Adam: You can also easily turn the sound off for those late night players who have roommates, and registered users have the advantage of saving high scores. Also, the shareware fee is only $10, which is very reasonably priced.

Requirements/Availability
Bubbles requires a Color QuickDraw-capable PowerPC-based Mac PowerPC, Mac OS 7.6.1 or higher, and 2 MB of free RAM. You can download Bubbles PPC from either Download.com http://www.download.com or the author’s home page, http://www.elegantsoft.com.

Summary
Mike: So, to sum things up, Bubbles offers a fun, easy-to-learn challenge for a very reasonable price. The game is simple and straightforward, but that doesn’t keep it from being fun and addicting. I would recommend Bubbles for puzzle enthusiasts.

Adam: Bubbles is just one of those wonderful games that is made available to the public for a price that won’t empty our wallets. As Mike said, if you’re looking for a fun, challenging game, Bubbles may be just what your looking for. Recommended by The Game Guys.

Download Bubbles PPC 1.3 

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.download.com
http://www.elegantsoft.com

MacCoach 2.0
Company: Neuron Data Systems
Estimated Price: $99.00
http://www.neuronsys.com

When it comes to maintaining a stable network server, a scenario such as the following is every technician’s worst nightmare: There is a class in session that needs files on the file server to take a quiz. You are at home, it is late at night, and the server is crashed. Worse yet, there is nobody around to restart the thing! Sound familiar? If so, you definitely need to check out MacCoach from Neuron Data Systems.

MacCoach uses a combination of hardware and software to avoid such a situation. MacCoach fully monitors all activity on your system in the background, and, if it detects a problem, it will automatically restart the machine, which means that you can be confident that your server will have the maximum amount of up-time possible.

The Magic
While the hardware actually does the restarting, the software that comes with MacCoach is what really makes it shine. Its control panel is clear and straightforward, and gives you such options as maximum allowable boot time and maximum reboot attempts. It also allows you to set how long to wait before rebooting if the system is not responding.

What’s more, MacCoach provides application crash detection, which, by monitoring all running application for crashes (even crashes such as Type 1 errors that don’t hang the system), will restart the server if one of your applications crashes or “unexpectedly quits.” The best part, however, is that MacCoach does not require applications to be rewritten to work with it. No plugins, no nothing. Just seamless integration and crash detection for all your applications.

You can choose to enable application crash detection in one of two ways. In a Finder Restart, MacCoach will allow all running applications to quit themselves before restarting the machine. This is the equivalent to choosing “restart” from the special menu. In a Direct Restart, the machine restarts without quitting all running applications. This is essentially the equivalent of the “three finger salute,” which is command-control-power.

The Report
One of the best and most appreciated features in MacCoach is its system log. The log is comprehensive and reports every action the machine takes. It also reports how applications crashed, and gives the error type. This is invaluable to me as a technician, as I can take the error message and try to determine what is wrong with the system. The system log is presented in a list view window (shown below). It can also be generated in HTML for easy viewing from anywhere in the world!

Requirements
MacCoach requires Mac OS/System Software 7.5.3 and a Power Macintosh with an ADB port. According to Neuron Data Systems, MacCoach will work on most 68k Macs also, but it is a good idea to make sure your 68k machine is compatible, as some older machines have a separate ADB protocol that does not work with MacCoach.

The Summary
MacCoach is a wonderful product. Its hardware-based system and application crash detection is unsurpassed by any product on the market today. Best of all, it’s easy to install, and it works like a charm, restarting our file server every time an application misbehaved. If you manage a file, web, FTP, or any other kind of Macintosh server that needs to be running 24/7, you should look into MacCoach. I guarantee you won’t regret it. MacCoach is very deserving of my highest recommendation.

MacMice Rating: 4

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.neuronsys.com

Transmit 1.2
Company: Panic
Shareware: $24.95
http://www.panic.com

Manage a website? I do. Use an FTP client? I have. Hate your FTP client? YES! Let’s face it, the Macintosh has never really had a good FTP client that is both fast and easy to use–that is, until Transmit (formerly Transit) came along. Transmit is totally Mac OS 8.x UI (user interface) savvy, featuring drag and drop, standard progress bars, list views, and contextual menus.

Transmit is a full featured FTP client that builds on the Mac OS user interface. It’s divided into “your stuff” and “their stuff.” “Their stuff” is the FTP server you are logged into, and you can easily drag and drop between the two sites. Moreover, Transmit also supports a bookmark system much like Mac OS 8.5′s “favorites,” and includes busy-server redialing and synchronization so your website and the copy on your hard disk will never be out of sync.

If the features mentioned above weren’t enough, Transmit also features logging, and is very customizable, allowing you to use Internet Config file mappings, and even work with proxy servers!

The Summary
There’s not too much to say about Transmit that’s not good. Actually, there’s nothing to say that isn’t good! The level of high quality development is obvious in every aspect of Transmit. And Transmit doesn’t just look good; it performs. Transmit will cut your download and upload times in half. Transmit is the best thing that has ever happened to Mac OS FTP! Is your FTP client a dog (pun very much intended)? Then you really have to check this program out. It gives me great pleasure to give Transmit my Highest Recommendation.

Download Transmit 1.2 

Dock Manager 1.6
Author: Wade Cosgrove
Freeware
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cosy/everyday.html

Dock Manager 1.6 is a wonderful little utility that monitors and allows you to customize all of Mac OS 8.5.x’s features, including the application switcher, keyboard switching, proportional scroll thumbs, and most importantly, Sherlock.

Dock Manager allows you to create plugin sets for Sherlock, eliminating the need to turn plugins on and off constantly. Dock Manager works very much like the Extensions Manager, whereas you can activate sets with the click of the mouse, and they will be active the next time you launch Sherlock.

Unfortunately, Dock Manager’s interface to create these sets is less than perfect: it makes you use the shift and command keys to select more than one object in a list. While this is obvious to advanced users, even intermediate users might quickly become frustrated. Perhaps a “select” button is in order.

The Summary
Dock Manager is a wonderful utility that I will definitely keep on my hard disk. It’s free, and does everything I want it to do. However, future improvements to this useful program could make it more useful for intermediate and beginning users. Recommended for users of Mac OS 8.5.x who want advanced control.

Download Dock Manager 1.6 

Smart Scroll 3.5
Author: Mark Moini
Shareware: $12.00
http://www.marcmoini.com

Mac OS 8.5.x introduced live scrolling and proportional scroll bars to the majority of the Mac OS, including windows, dialog boxes, and even some applications. Unfortunately, most applications need to be updated to take advantage of these new, enhanced features. Until then, there’s Smart Scroll.

Smart Scroll provides live scrolling and proportional scroll bars to the applications that don’t take advantage of these new built-in features. These applications include Netscape, Photoshop, ClarisWorks, and more. With Smart Scroll installed, proportional scroll bars and live scrolling will appear in these applications’ windows!

The Summary
This is my third review of Smart Scroll, and my opinion hasn’t changed one bit. The Mac OS was in desperate need of these features, and I commend Apple for integrating them into Mac OS 8.5.x. However, users of pre-8.5.x System versions and users of applications that don’t take advantage of these features need only install Smart Scroll. It’s very compatible, and functions perfectly on my PowerBook G3. Highly Recommended.

Download Smart Scroll 3.5 

Requirements/Availability: No requirements for Transmit are given. Dock Manager requires Mac OS 8.5.x and Sherlock. Smart Scroll requires Mac OS/System 7.x and a 256 colors monitor. All three of these utilities can be downloaded at their respective URLs.

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.panic.com
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cosy/everyday.html
http://www.marcmoini.com

Royal Flush 1.2.1
Author: Gerard Putter
Freeware
gp@xs4all.nl

Mike: Royal Flush may sound like a card game, but really it’s an exact mockup of a pinball game from the 1970s. The playing board and the sounds are all authentic, even down to the physics of nudging the table! Royal Flush was originally going to be a commercial product, but the project was scrapped, and the author decided to release it as freeware. Unfortunately, the lack of polish shows, and Royal Flush suffers from too many bugs and problems to recommend it.

Adam: From the minute you open Royal Flush, you notice the lack of polish. The interface is very confusing, and you have to click on the “pinball” table to play. However, I didn’t know it was a pinball game, so I was very confused when a scene depicting a restaurant came up!

Mike: I agree with that, Adam. The opening scene is supposed to depict a 70s-style diner, but it gives no instructions or indication of what to do next. The menu bar is hidden when the game starts up, but you can’t start the game without moving the mouse cursor up to the menu bar. This is obviously not very intuitive.

Adam: And it gets worse, Mike! You have to select “insert coin” and then “new game,” but you can still open the pinball window before you do either of these, so it can become very confusing as to how to begin. Locating both of these options on the “table” (in the table window) would be a much better strategy, much less confusing, and much more intuitive.

Mike: Once you’re finally able to get the game started, the game play is straightforward and decent enough. You control the two flippers, and there are also keys to nudge the pinball table in different directions. Nudging quickly becomes a crucial part of your strategy.

Adam: While the gameplay is straightforward, smooth, and mildly entertaining, there are no real “bells and whistles” to this part of the game. There are sound effects, but no music. While you’re supposed to feel like you’re in an arcade, I felt like I was still at my computer.

Mike: I realize that the game was meant to be a 100% conversion of an old game, and in that regard it does a fairly good job. But the beeps and boinks (70s-style sound effects) get annoying very quickly. Also, I prefer modern pinball games, with extra flippers, loops and curves in the playing table, and special bonus points. Starplay’s pinball games, such as Crystal Caliburn and Loony Labyrinth, are just a couple of examples of great pinball games on the Mac that have those features…

Adam: I agree. Modern pinball games are much more enjoyable to play! Also, Royal Flush is plagued with bugs that caused it to crash several times on 3 different machines that I tested it on: a PowerBook G3, an iMac, and a Power Mac 7200/90.

Requirements/Availability
Royal Flush requires System 6.0.7, 3.5MB of hard disk space, and 3.6MB of free RAM. You can download Royal Flush from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Adam: Royal Flush is a freeware game that does what it says, and nothing more. No special features, and nothing to attract potential players. While being a conversion from a commercial game is an excuse for the lack of bells and whistles, it is no excuse for the lack of compatibility with Mac OS 8.x and the numerous bugs and crashes that I experienced. Unfortunately, due to these stability problems, The Game Guys cannot recommend Royal Flush.

Mike: We would instead recommend that players interested in a good pinball game for the Mac look into come of the commercial offerings, many of which can be had cheaply! (Starplay, for example, ships both of the games I mentioned earlier on one CD-ROM.)

Download Royal Flush 1.2.1 

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.download.com

Welcome to another edition of The Game Guys. After much planning, Mike and I have decided to switch over to a “true live” format. That means that what you are reading is our actual conversation/review of the game, uninterrupted. This new format makes it much easier for us to complete a review, and we really enjoyed using it. As always, we welcome any feedback. (We are actually known to beg for it at times). Without further ado, our first game reviewed with this new format is Slithereens, from Ambrosia Software.

Slithereens 1.0
Company: Ambrosia Software
Shareware: $20.00
http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com

Mike: Ambrosia Software has a big reputation in the Mac shareware world for turning out games that are commercial quality but making them freely available and affordable. The folks at Ambrosia have struck gold again with their latest offering, Slithereens.

Adam: Mike, would you please bless us with the storyline of the game?

Mike: I’d be honored, Adam. You play the part of Luther, a snake who has been subjected to genetic experiments and is now trapped in a garden, along with many other genetically-mutated snakes. As a result of the experiments all of the snakes are segmented and can gain and lose segments without penalty, as long as they keep their heads. Segments are gained if the snakes eat other animals, and segments are lost if the snakes lay eggs or get eaten. The snakes are now prone to eating their own species, too, so Luther had better watch out! The only way out of this snake-eat-snake world is to eat all of the other snakes yourself, thus passing the levels and eventually escaping from garden.

Adam: From the minute you launch the installer, you can tell Slithereens is an Ambrosia game. Installation is straightforward, and you can start playing right away. No restart necessary.

Mike: Slithereens is very snappy and responsive during game play, too. Using the keyboard was easy (you only need to control your snake with the arrows or numeric keypad), and using a game pad or joystick was also simple and responsive.

Adam: Slithereens was very fast and stable on my G3, and I thought the graphics, sound effects, and especially the music were topnotch.

Mike: I thought so too, Adam. I also ran Slithereens on a G3, and the animations and graphics were very fluid. The digitized sound effects and spoken comments were exceptional too, and often hilarious!

Adam: Agreed, Mike. I loved the comments. They really added to the overall experience of the game. I couldn’t help myself from playing the game every time I turned on my computer. Horribly addictive.

Mike: Absolutely! It was so bad that I considered putting an alias to the game in my Startup Items folder! I really appreciated the fact that Slithereens takes advantage of Apple’s InputSprockets technology, so setting up your Game Pad or joystick is exceptionally easy.

Adam: Definitely. InputSprockets are also returning to the Extensions folder in Mac OS 8.6. It’s wonderful to see quality software adopting that standard.

Mike: The documentation in Slithereens was straightforward and helpful, but to be honest, I didn’t refer to it all that much. Slithereens is very easy to play and also easy to get started, and I found that the excellent tutorial at the beginning of the game was all I needed.

Adam: That tutorial was one of the best things I have ever seen from a shareware game. I am always one to skip the documentation, and when I started playing, I was a bit confused. Luckily, the helpful 2-minute tutorial was included right in the main menu. After watching it, I had no trouble playing Slithereens.

Mike: Slithereens even offers a two-player option, and you can work competitively or cooperatively to complete each level. Unfortunately, you do have to both be using the same computer, because there is no option for network play.

Adam: True, network/modem play would be awesome. Hopefully Ambrosia will consider it for a future version of Slithereens.

Mike: Like most of Ambrosia’s recent games, Slithereens costs $20 to register. Given how polished this game is, I consider that a steal!

Adam: It is a steal! You get to play 7 levels with the unregistered version, and when you register, you get 44 (I’ll check on that). Exceptional Value!

Requirements/Availability
Slithereens requires a 68040 or higher processor, Mac OS 7.1 or later, a 13″ color monitor, and 12MB of RAM.

You can download Slithereens from the Ambrosia Software/Slithereens website, at http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/Products/Slithereens.html, or from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: Our minor complaint about the lack of a network game play aside, Slithereens is a near-perfect shareware game. It should come as no surprise that Ambrosia has yet another winner on its hands. Any Mac gamer should check Slithereens out as soon as possible! It’s a blast!

Adam: Ambrosia Software has always had a reputation for high quality, low cost shareware games. Slithereens further strengthens that reputation. If you enjoy nonviolent, fun, addicting games, chances are you’ll enjoy Slithereens. Highly Recommended by The Game Guys.

Download Slithereens 1.0 

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com
http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/Products/Slithereens.html
http://www.download.com

A Better Finder Creators & Types
Author: Frank Reiff
Shareware: $10.00
http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderCreatorsAndTypes

Many readers may remember my review of Frank Reiff’s A Better Finder Rename, back in October, 1998. A Better Finder Rename enabled you to automatically rename batches of files through a contextual menu in the finder. Similarly, A Better Finder Creators & Types (referred to as ABFCT from this point on) allows you to change the creator and/or type of any file via an application launched through a contextual menu plug-in.

ABFCT will change the creator and/or type of a large batch of files all at once, eliminating the need to manually “Save As…” from the program which you want to be the creator (the program that is opened when you double click on the file). Another way to do this would be with ResEdit, but this would be even more time consuming. ABFCT is a no-fuss program. It has a very well-done interface, allowing you to simply select the creator and/or type from a pop-up menu and then click “OK.” ABFCT also allows you to type in a creator and/or type code, so you can give a file any code you want, not just the codes of the programs listed in the pop-up menu. ABFCT is very fast, and your file(s)’ creator and/or types are changed instantly.

ABFCT also ships with a handy “Drop” application, where you can drag and drop any number of files onto it and it will launch ABFCT, just as if you were using the contextual menu.

The Summary
ABFCT is another ingenious utility by Frank Reiff that fully exploits Mac OS 8.x’s contextual menus. It is fast and runs smoothly without a hitch. If you work with foreign files frequently, or like to open files in two or more different applications, ABFCT is for you. $10.00 is the right flavor for this top-notch piece of shareware. Highly Recommended.

Download A Better Finder Creators & Types 1.4 

QT Speed 1.0
Author: Mark Eaton
Freeware
http://www.mindspring.com/~markeaton/QTSpeed.html

Owning a PowerBook is different, and many desktop users don’t realize how much different it really is until they own one. When I was a desktop user, I never imagined that I would have to literally reconfigure my machine several times a week. Now, however, I’m the proud owner of a PowerBook G3–a machine that I take almost everywhere I go. Every time I change location preferences using Apple’s handy Location Manager, I am more and more thankful for this wonderful software. However, there was always one setting that the Location Manager didn’t change: QuickTime Connection Speed. QT Speed, by Mark Eaton, has filled that gap nicely.

In today’s world, QuickTime movies imbedded via the QuickTime Plug-in on Internet web pages are commonplace. Many web pages include different versions of their movies, and the version that you receive depends on the connection speed setting you have in your QuickTime Settings control panel. I switch between a modem and a T1 connection frequently, and having to reconfigure this setting each time I browse the web is a hassle. That’s where QT Speed 1.0 comes in. I can configure this module along with the rest of my Location settings, and it will automatically change my settings each time I switch settings with the Location Manager.

The Summary
What a useful piece of software! QT Speed makes life with my PowerBook easier, and that is what matters most. Go try it, it’s free! There is no excuse not to. Highly Recommended for all PowerBook owners who use Apple’s Location Manager.

Download QT Speed 1.0.1 

Trash It! 3.6
Company: Skidperfect Software, Inc.
Freeware
http://www.pair.com/ammon/skidperfect

Trash It! is a simple control strip module that allows you to instantly delete anything that you drag and drop onto it. It will also empty the trash if you click on it. Trash It! will delete locked or busy files without any prompting, and is fully Mac OS 8.5.x and Control Strip 2.0 compatible. Cool!

The Summary
Trash It! is a neat control strip module that can be a big time saver–if used properly. However, it can also be a dangerous feature if left in the hands of a novice or beginning user. Thus I can recommend Trash It! for advanced users but I cannot recommend it for advanced users who also share their computer with less-experienced users.

Download Trash It! 3.6 

Requirements/Availability: A Better Finder Creators & Types requires a PowerPC Macintosh running Mac OS 8.x. QT Speed 1.0 requires Apple’s Location Manager, and Trash It! 3.6 requires Apple’s control strip software. All three of these utilities can be downloaded at their respective URLs.

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderCreatorsAndTypes
http://www.mindspring.com/~markeaton/QTSpeed.html
http://www.pair.com/ammon/skidperfect

Yoot Tower
Company: SEGA
Estimated Price: $29.99
http://www.yoottower.com

Simulation games have always been popular on the
Macintosh platform, and Sim Tower by Yoot Saito
was no exception. Its real world problems and rewards delighted gamers of all ages. Now, Mr. Saito has returned with the sequel to Sim Tower. Yoot Tower has tons of new features that are sure to keep you playing for hours upon hours at a time.

Location’s the Key
Unlike Sim Tower, Yoot Tower does not limit you to one building location; it gives you three locations to pick from: Hawaii, Kengo Falls, and Tokyo. All three locations have their own goals, limitations, and funds. Tokyo is a major metropolitis, placing emphasis on height and fast expansion, while Hawaii and Kengo Falls are mainly tourist locations, encouraging the construction of hotels and shopping centers.

The Basics
Yoot Tower’s interface and game play are familiar territory for Sim Tower veterans. As in Sim Tower, you start out with a rating of one star, and with that rating comes a limited number of items that you can build. As your tower and your star rating grows, you are allowed to build more items, all the way up to the end, when you build a “final item.” The “final item” is different in all three of the locations, and it can only be built on the top floor of your tower.

Your tower and star rating will only grow if you keep your tenants happy, and that means strategically placing offices, condos, apartments, restaurants, and shopping centers. You also have to keep traffic moving with elevators, escalators, and sky bridges. If you don’t, your tenants will leave in drones, and you will be left all alone with a very unsuccessful tower.

New!
Yoot Tower includes all of the exciting features that made Sim Tower a hit, including offices, hotels, restaurants, movie theatres, subway stations, and more. In addition to all of Sim Tower’s items, Yoot Tower offers new shops, cafés, rest rooms, schools, gathering areas, power rooms, and much, much more! You can also view the outside of your building and construct billboard advertisements for extra revenue.

Yoot Tower offers much more control over the tower than its predecessor. There are new tools such as range, scroll and interview, which let you view the range of customers affected for commercial areas, scroll the screen freely, and find out what your tenants are thinking, respectively. You can freely view traffic patterns, building evaluation, and more–all without interrupting the game play. The info window for many items is also refined, letting you not only specify their rent, but also in commercial locations, control what and how much they sell. Unfortunately, you still have to set the preferences for these items individually for every structure in your building; there is still no global way to set them. This can cause a very time consuming problem when you have a large tower!

Time in Yoot Tower is much more realistic than Sim Tower. Time follows a special calendar, and one day per month is simulated. That day could be a weekday or a holiday, depending on the year and the month. Weekdays are more beneficial for locations such as Tokyo, where there are a lot of offices, while Hawaii and Kengo Falls reap sales from tourist-filled holidays.

Special Situations
Keeping your tenants happy is not always the only thing you will need to deal with. At certain points in the game, you will have to deal with both pleasant and unpleasant situations ranging from terrorist threats and fires to buried treasure and VIPs who need to be pleased, because if they’re not pleased, you won’t be either! With a bad visit, a VIP will not allow your tower to gain a higher star rating.

Plug it in
Probably the most exciting new feature in Yoot Tower is its plug-in architecture, allowing you to add new features to the game at any time, as they become available. SEGA claims that you will not only be able to add new locations, but also new construction items such as shops and restaurants. Once these plug-ins are available for download, Yoot Tower will be able to bring life back to old towers with new items that were not previously available.

Requirements/Availability
Yoot Tower requires Mac OS 7.5 or higher and a PowerPC processor. It also requires at least 100MB of hard disk space, 32MB of RAM, a 2X CD-ROM drive, and a monitor capable of displaying 256 colors at 640×480. When Yoot Tower opens, it makes you switch your monitor over to 256 colors, but when you close the game, it does not automatically switch back to your previous color depth. This can be quite annoying when you use your computer for more than just games, as I do.

The Summary
Yoot Tower is a well done game that is sure to be a hit amongst the Macintosh gaming faithful. Its new features and plug-in architecture are bound to excite many gamers, while its familiar interface is sure to reel the Sim Tower faithful in for more.

Despite the limitations of color depth switching and global preferences, Yoot Tower’s vast improvements over its predecessor easily make up for this apparent oversight. Yoot Tower is a wonderful game, and all Macintosh gamers should be thankful to Mr. Saito and SEGA for thinking of us first. At only $29.99, Yoot Tower should be on every gamers list.
Highly Recommended!

MacMice Rating: 4

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.yoottower.com

Kaged: The Magic Orbs
Company: Monkey Byte Games
Shareware: $14.95, $19.95 for CD
http://www.mbyte.com

Mike: Kaged: The Magic Orbs has all the
makings of a classic puzzle game. It has a
simple premise, and it’s easy to learn to play.
However, it’s also challenging enough to make you want to come back for more.

Adam: Good puzzle games are always hard to find for one reason: originality. Many puzzle games are similar to one another, and don’t offer the level of originality that makes the game fun. When you feel like you haven’t played a game before, it’s fun, and Kaged is one of those games.

Mike: Kaged presents you with a game board containing round spaces. Some of these spaces are filled with balls, others are left empty. You can move any ball to any adjacent empty square using the mouse. The object is to move the balls so that they are arranged in a certain pattern, and once this is accomplished, you go on to the next level and have a new pattern to match.

Adam: One tricky thing complicates this: every time you move a ball, it changes color, and your job isn’t just to move the balls into the right pattern, but also to make sure their colors match the colors given in the pattern. So, you have to figure out the sequence of color changes for each ball, and then figure out how many moves it will take for you get the ball into the right spot with the right color.

Mike: Sound easy? Maybe in the first few levels, but as you progress in the game, the difficulty grows and it becomes hard to get everything right. There have been several times where I have put all of the balls into the correct spots, only to have one ball be a wrong color. It can get very frustrating!!!

Adam: Frustrating, but always fun. Even when it seems you’ve mastered the game, Kaged has more tricks up its’ sleeve. There’s still the challenge of solving each level more quickly and in fewer moves. The game keeps track of the time elapsed on each puzzle, and also the fewest number of moves that it has taken to solve each puzzle, so you can always try to set a new record on a level that you’ve already solved.

Requirements/Availability
Kaged requires a PowerPC processor, Mac OS 7.5 or higher, 16MB of RAM and 20MB of hard disk space. Kaged only used 4.5MB of hard disk space on my machine (Adam).

You can download Kaged from the Monkey Byte Games website, at http://www.mbyte.com, or from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: Kaged offers nice graphics and sound, and solid game play. If you’re a puzzle enthusiast, you should definitely give Kaged a try.

Adam: It doesn’t take long to become hooked on Kaged. The level of originality that Monkey Byte Games has produced is excellent. The interface and graphics are eye catching, the sounds are well done, and the game is very entertaining. Highly Recommended by the Game Guys.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.mbyte.com
http://www.download.com

VST G3 Zip 100 Drive
Company: VST Technologies, Inc.
Estimated Price: $249.95
http://www.vsttech.com

Let’s face it. Floppies are out. In today’s world of high-capacity removable storage, one form of media has virtually become the standard on both the Mac and PC platforms–Iomega’s Zip. The handy 100MB cartridges can go almost anywhere. External and internal Zip drives in desktop and mini-tower computers are now commonplace. Now, thanks to VST Technologies, Zip drives are also becoming a standard addition to laptop computers.

It’s in the Bay
Your days of using SCSI adapters for external Zip drives are over. VST’s Zip 100 Drive fits in either the left or the right expansion bay of the PowerBook G3. It is fully hot swappable, which means you can insert it or remove it without having to sleep, shut down, or restart. It will run with either the battery or power adapter plugged in, and to me, it is essential. I am constantly on the run, and it’s the only expansion bay module I keep plugged in full time.

VST’s Zip 100 Drive behaves just like a floppy or similar external Zip drive. You insert the disk, it appears on the desktop, and you eject it when you are done. Simple as that! The speed of the VST Zip drive is also noticeably faster than an external Zip, and while it is no speed demon, the speed up is really helpful when you are in a rush to get out the door!

You’re being too Noisy!
The VST Zip Drive isn’t the quietest expansion bay module I have ever heard, but, then again, what Zip drive is?! The VST Zip Drive goes to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity so you don’t have to work with the constant high-pitched hissing sound of a Zip drive every time you leave a Zip disk in the drive.

Fits like a…
The VST Zip Drive is dark grey/black plastic, just like the other expansion bay modules that come with the PowerBook G3. Though its color is the same as the PowerBook, it doesn’t exactly blend in perfectly, mainly because there is an extra “lip” of plastic surrounding the opening for the Zip disk. When I insert a Zip disk, it comes close to the edge of this “lip,” so I assume it is there to make the Zip disk fit properly.

The Summary
VST Technologies has done a great job with the VST G3 Zip 100 Drive. It’s hot swappable, it comes with a free Zip disk, and it works perfectly with your PowerBook G3. My minor complaints about the extra “lip” of plastic and the noise do not hamper the functionality and usefulness of this excellent addition to the PowerBook G3. If you work with Zip disks often, pay the money and get one. It’s worth every penny.

Highly Recommended for all owners of the PowerBook G3.

MacMice Rating: 4

Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.vsttech.com