The Web Is Leaving OS 9 Behind
From Clare
Dear Charles,
Many thanks for your recent
article on the Low End Mac site about the viability of Mac
OS 9. I am working with OS 9.2.2 on two beautiful Cubes and am also about to purchase a Lombard laptop (for email and a bit of
word processing and HTML text web design when I'm on the road).
I can't use OS X because it gives me really bad eye strain
(headaches and blurry vision), so I am constantly seeking for ways
to maximise the effectiveness of 9.2. I love the functionality of
OS X but simply can't read the way it renders fonts, so I am
stuck with OS 9 (which is still a great OS - but nothing new
is happening with it!). I know a number of other people are in the
same situation.
http://www.atpm.com/12.01/paradigm.shtml
Re the browser problem: You have confirmed that my only option
here is to use a PC when I want to browse the Net. Even IE 5.1 is
not good, and iCab doesn't access everything by any means.
Do you have any other good tips about how to keep working with
OS 9.2 or know of any discussion forums or good websites about how
to maximise OS 9?
Clare
Hi Clare,
I'd never thought about the screen font issue
before, but now that you mention it, I can see that it might cause
difficulty for some folks, although I've personally never had any
problems.
Browsing is getting very compromised in OS 9, and
if you have access to a PC with modern browsers, the surfing
experience is going to be superior. These days I find Netscape 7 or
Mozilla 1.3 the most capable OS 9 browsers, but there is
really no truly satisfactory solution, and the lack of
compatibility will only get worse and browser technology marches
on, leaving OS 9 behind.
As for OS 9 coping tips and info, you could try
the Low End Mac Mac OS 9 List.
Charles
Pismo, Memory, and Tiger
From Tom Gabriel
Hi Charles,
Your information and your perspective on same are a consistently
reasonable and gratifying read, and I compliment you on both. One
of the ways I compliment you, of course, is to quiz you on what is
bothering me. ;-)
I recently got a very nice, lightly used 500 MHz Pismo with the original 12 GB hard
drive, 384 megs of RAM, and two good batteries. I think I'm in
love. It came loaded with OS X "Tiger" 10.4.6 (no backup
disks), and there begins the story.
For the things I use the computer to do, for the most part, this
much RAM actually seems to be okay, if not great. I have so far had
none of the problems, modem or otherwise, which I have read about
in your columns. Things are very smooth, if not blazing fast, but I
know more RAM would be better. I would switch the present 128 MB
stick with a 256 MB one (for 512 MB total), which would at least be
comfortable.
System Profiler says DIMM-0 in slot J2 is 128 MB and DIMM-1 in
slot J1 is 256 MB. Do you know if this means that the smaller 128
MB stick is in the upper or lower RAM slot? (Upper would of course
be much easier to replace.)
Secondly, do you continue to feel that OS X 10.3.9 is truly
the best choice for a Pismo? I would surely consider going back to
Panther, which I use with my Power Mac G4, with no complaints. I
also have backup disks for it, which I feel are necessary "just in
case", and none for 10.4.6 - nor really the money to spend on a set
right now.
Tiger is a beaut of an OS, though, and I like some of its
improvements, especially the later versions of Safari & Mail,
plus Spotlight. (Needless to say, I do not like that it asks for
twice as much RAM as Panther - very hungry cat.)
I would really value your perspective on this. What's your take
on it?
Thanks and God Bless,
Tom Gabriel
Hi Tom,
Way cool - another nice Pismo. I still love mine
and use it every day, although my 17"
PowerBook is now my number one production machine.
And yes, I'm still running OS X 10.3.9 on the
Pismo, although I sorely miss Spotlight, to which I'm increasingly
addicted.
If I were you, since you like Tiger even with 384
MB of RAM, I wouldn't bother downgrading unless problems arise. I
never got past 10.4.4 with my Pismo, and I may someday get
ambitious and install Tiger again for another go, but 10.3.9 really
works so well . . . decisions.
Honestly, I'm not sure which slot is which by
name, but I deduce that the number one slot would be the bottom
one. It's extremely easy to pop the module out of the upper slot
and see what remains showing up. Actually, even getting at the
bottom slot isn't that bad - the processor daughtercard is fairly
easy to remove for access.
Thanks for the kind words.
Charles
Pismo with Dead Video
From Andrew McGilvery
Hi Charles,
Have a dilemma with my trusty Pismo. Having maxed it out with a new hard
drive and RAM, the lovely thing decided to take a video vacation,
with the screen no longer booting up.
Ah ha, you say, the inverter has gone! Well, I happen to have a
trusty supply of G3 laptops and have tried both Lombard and Pismo
inverters to no avail (noting Lombards don't fit due to different
plugs). Have also checked the screen with the good spare ones and
again have got nothing, I am dreading the fact its "video card"
related.
From the searching I did on the Net, I couldn't come up with
anything about whether you can replace the video card or whether
it's part of the logic board, apart from that its 8 MB and the
last model may have had space for more memory. I am hoping it's not
requiring a logic board change, as the other Pismos we have here at
home have a different logic board problem (one requiring PRAM
battery disconnection to start, and the other is selective as to
when it wants to boot up).
I have lived for five months without it but am really getting
itchy about buying a new MacBook,
even though I would much prefer to use my far sexier, curvy Pismo.
:D
Any help would be most appreciated.
Andrew McGilvery
Hi Andrew,
If the inverter and screen check out, the most
likely culprit is the video circuitry in the logic board, although
one can't be certain - but what else? Bad ribbon cable?
Wegener Media has
Pismo logic boards for $199 with a trade-in. Of course they will
also sell you a
whole Pismo for $350.
Best of luck,
Charles
External Drive Enclosures
From Andrew J. Fishkin,
Esq.
Charles,
Just read your article on the external drive enclosure ($20 i-Rocks IR-9200 USB 2.0 2.5" Drive
Enclosure a Good Value) and thought I'd tell you about the one
I use. It's a Macally that is also aluminum, about the same size,
but does two better in being both USB 2.0 (1.1 compatible)
and FireWire - and not requiring add-on drivers for
Mac or Windows with either USB or FireWire.
I have an 80 GB 5400 rpm Travelstar hard drive installed in it
and have mixed results using it bus-powering with USB (iMac G5
needs the dual cable, ThinkPad X22 does not, etc.), but I've used
it with Panther, Tiger, and both the XP and 2000 versions of
Windows and never needed a driver.
It's also fast, in either USB or FireWire mode, and has a second
FireWire jack so you can daisy-chain it.
It cost me about $70 last year, but in my opinion it's the best
such product out there, especially if you use both Mac and Windows
PCs. I've got mine with a massive FAT32 partition that all
computers can read and write, and a smaller partition with a
bootable OS X on it for my PowerPC Macs.
Cheers,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the report. Sounds like a nice drive
enclosure. I've had good service from various Macally products.
The USB/FireWire ambidexterity would be really
convenient. Of course, it's more than three times the price of the
i-Rocks enclosure.
Charles
RE: External Enclosures
From Andrew J. Fishkin, Esq.
Yup, price is always an issue. In this case, however, I believe
it was money well-spent.
Andrew
USB for the PowerBook 5300?
From Ashwani Vasishth
Hullo Charles,
Came across your article on the
5300, and wondered if, by some long shot, you might know of how
I might either hook up my 5300ce to a USB port or connect it to a
USB device.
Thanks,
Ashwani Vasishth
Hi Ashwani,
Unfortunately, USB support for the 5300 (and
1400) is pretty much ruled out by the
fact that the PS Card slot is not CardBus spec. PowerBook 3400s and 3500s have PC Card slots that can be hacked to
support CardBus, which is necessary for USB adapters, but the older
'Books can't. WallStreet and
later have full support for CardBus.
Charles
Free WordPerfect 3.5e Download
From Lonnie Buchanon
Hi Charles:
I'm afraid the link to download WordPerfect 3.5e from Corel is
now dead, and Version Tracker does not have it available either. Do
you know of another source where I can find this version?
Thanks very much.
Lonnie Buchanon
(still using a WallStreet)
Hi Lonnie,
You can try here:
http://www.deakin.edu.au/software/applications.php
Some time ago David Whiteley, ITS, Deakin
University, wrote me:
"Regarding Corel WordPerfect 3.5e for Macintosh,
available from our website, I'm pleased to let you know that as a
courtesy to fellow Mac users, it and CorelDRAW 8 LE can now be
downloaded without requiring a Deakin username or password. The
above URL is still correct."
I hope that deal still is in place. The download
link is still working.
Charles
From Lonnie Buchanon
Charles:
I am very happy to report that the Deakin University link you
gave me is still good, and I was successfully able to download
WordPerfect. Thank you so very much for your kindness and help.
Lonnie Buchanon
Canadian Supplier of iListen?
From Douglas Taylor
Hi Charles,
I'm wondering if you know of any Canadian sources of iListen. I
know a person who is interested in running it, but cross-border
duties are a going concern.
Thanks,
Doug
MacSpeech's Chief Evangelist Chuck Rogers supplies
these Canadian resellers:
• CDRom Store - (800) 250-9229
• Mostly
Digital - (800) 942-6227
Charles
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