MacaRa Modem Magic Article
From Hugh McMillan
Charles,
I enjoyed your article on the MacaRa Modem
Magic, but I was wondering about their support for the AirPort
Extreme Base Station modem. I have noticed with a friend's set up
that the Base Station modem is much less "robust" than his iMac DV
internal modem, and it sounds like Modem Magic would be just the
ticket to allow him to maintain a connection.
Many thanks for your attention.
Hugh McMillan
- Hi Hugh,
I can't find any scripts directly referencing the AirPort Extreme
Base Station modem in the MacaRa Modem Magic 5.8 scripts list, but
that doesn't necessarily mean it's not supported.
I would suggest contacting Tracy Turner (links on the Modem
Magic Website) and ask him what the story is.
Charles
MacaRa Modem Magic Kudos
From R. Friede
Woohoo! At last a prominent online writer gives Tracy [Turner,
the creator of MacaRa Modem Magic] the credit he deserves. I've
been using MMM for many years to improve my dialup connections.
Thanks for telling it like it is, Charles.
Cheers,
Bob Friede
- Hi Bob,
Thanks. I've been using Modem Magic scripts for several years too.
With a poky pipeline to the Internet like I have, every bit
counts.
Charles
Re: MacaRa Modem Magic Kudos
Yes, we have a similar situation at our cabin in rural NW Maine
where we spend several months a year. Upgrading the phone lines seems
to be of no interest to the telco, and satellite Internet is
ridiculously expensive - especially for something that fails every
time a thick enough cloud passes over. We have satellite TV there, as
there's no available cable or DSL, and we're very far away from the
nearest broadcast stations. Still, the quality of life there beats
home and Comcast cable hands down!
Bob F
ColorIt! for OS X
From Bob Britten
Hi Charles,
I have contacted you before on this issue, and I was wondering if
you had any further details regarding when the OS X version of
ColorIt!
will be released - and what the hold up is?
I gather you have a beta version - how is it shaping up?
Like you, it is still my favorite graphics editor by far!
Thanks for your time in answering this,
Bob Britten
- Hi Bob,
I've heard nothing new, but I understand that the MicroFrontier
developers are at work on it. I'm very pleased with the beta I'm
using. It works pretty much identically to the Classic version.
I've noticed no major speed differences (i.e., it's very fast in
OS X, too). There are still some rough edges on the beta, but
nothing terribly annoying.
To receive an email notification when the OS X version of Color
It! will be available, send an email message to:
x@microfrontier.com
Charles
ToyViewer Column
From R. Friede
Charles,
I sure wish you had really compared ToyViewer with
GraphicConverter. You mentioned GC only once, writing that it does
pretty much everything you need. So . . . what's better
about TV please, (disregarding Classic-only ColorIt! which I liked a
lot too)?
Thx,
Bob Friede
- Hi Bob,
Graphic Converter is a much more powerful program than ToyViewer
overall. However....
ToyViewer's advantages over GC are basically four: -
- It's very fast, and GC is sluggish. TV starts up almost
instantly.
- It is very slick to use - I prefer the user interface
- It's simple: GC will do more, but TV does almost everything
I need, and what it can't handle, Color It! and Photoshop
Elements can.
- It's free, while GC costs $35
- Charles
PowerBook 5300cs
From
Gary Caldwell
Mr. Moore:
I have a 5300cs I traded for,
and I don't know much about them. I'm more of a Windows person . I
want to sell it, but it has the Apple Guide menu missing with
question mark that goes to the top right of menu bar, and it says in
its folder that the extension is missing. How do I get it back, or do
you have any files for it, or where can I download needed files? your
help will be honored.
Gary
- Hi Gary,
The 5300 is getting pretty long in the tooth. I have a soft spot
for them I used a 5300 for three years as my main workhorse, and
loved it.
However, your monetary prospects are not that lucrative. Wegener
Media is selling refurbished 5300cs for US$50.
First look in the Extensions Disabled folder in the System Folder
to make sure your missing Apple Guide Extension is not there. If
it is there, just move it back into the Extensions Folder and
reboot. You can also move it using the Extensions Manager in the
Control Panels submenu of the Apple Menu.
If it isn't there, I think your best bet would be to do a complete
system reinstall, as that probably hasn't been done on your
computer for a long time.
If you have a set of system floppy disks, this is pretty easy. If
not, you can download Mac System 7.5.3 for free from Apple's
software Website:
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/
English-North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/
Also get the 7.5.5 update as well, which will give you the
best-performing system for a 5300:
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/
English-North_American/Macintosh/System/
You can make floppies from the disk images or run the installer
from the hard drive or from an external disk (i.e., a Zip drive)
if you have a compatible drive.
Charles
Why Linux
From
Richard Ford
G'day Charles,
I am not a Mac user and never have been (apart from the Apple II
in primary school and this game called "Lemonade" that was kinda
cool). But I did get my ex-girlfriend to buy an iBook
700. Great value and ease of use.
However, to answer your question: "Why Linux?"
Well, I think I have the answer, and you Mac boys (the normal ones
that like computers and not the crazy ones that take every chance to
slag off at Windows or something else - sheesh!) provide the answer
within yourselves.
Let me illustrate:
Why do I, a desktop Linux user, read Mac sites every day?
Do I want a Mac? No.
Would I like one if I had one? Yes.
So why won't I buy one. Well it doesn't quite "Do it for me" in
the same way that Macs "do it" for you. Or the same way Rugby does it
for me as an Australian, but not for many of my local Chinese
engineers here - soccer "does it" for them.
So why read Mac sites? Well I love to read about you guys enjoying
your platform, it reminds me of when I was a kid (I am old and grey
and 27 now), playing with my C64 and then 286 and up. I lost the love
of computing about the time I left OS/2 behind after many years and
went to W95 and started my Comp Sci degree in 1995.
Now being a computer science student and a long time lover of
technology, I realised many years later that I just didn't care
anymore and that this was a problem. I just used these machines to
get a job done, and that was it. The perpetual enjoyment like a kid
on Christmas morning was gone.
I thought long and hard about it. As I did a degree in accounting
as well, I was perilously close to leaving computers and heading off
to the land of P+L sheets. However, at university we used Suns all
the time. Then for a part time job while at uni I did some database
development and Linux server administration. My sitting on the fence
continued this way for a while - all the time keeping tabs on Linux
- seeing how it has changed since a FidoNet friend forced it on me
in 1992. Knowing that it was impressive and getting better.
Then one day I started using it for desktop work and not just
servers. I left W2K behind and made the leap. I had my T3 and phone
synching. Bluetooth, GPRS, WiFi, sleep, network, modem, sound, video,
etc. Everything just worked on my Dell Inspiron 4000. So was it
"Doing it for me" yet?
Not really, as my medicine would not be just using Linux and doing
the same old stuff again that I did on Windows or could even do on a
Mac.
I really noticed a change in myself, though, when things started
to break or new software came out and I had to fix it. Hack it, make
something work. Write scripts, explore, get dirty. And then I
discovered my love of computers born in an age of DOS 3.3 and lost in
an age of "My Computer".
People use Linux not because it is Unix (though I am sure
some do). People use it because one can do whatever one wants. The
number of times I hear comments about Microsoft on these pages and
their restrictive policies, I can't help but notice the hypocrisy of
some authors coming from the Apple world. Apple being a company that
wants to control hardware and software and force DRM onto people and
has a history of weird proprietary hardware. And let's face it - if
they could be Microsoft, they would be.
I tired of Windows because it made computing dull. It tried to do
everything for me - all automatic. I see the Mac as the same
- though more evolved.
Does this make Mac and Windows bad? No. Just horses for courses. I
love software and couldn't care less about a piece of silicon on my
desk and whether it is pretty or not. Linux gives me unrivaled
freedom to play, explore and hack. I know of Darwin, but with all due
respect it is not the same thing.
I read Mac sites because you guys show a love of computing that is
born in your platform. I love that! That is why I use Linux, because
I love that same fun - but born in a different platform.
However, I both do not use and will not use Mac or Windows because
of the lack of flexibility to do "what you want" with the technology.
It all just boils down to the type of computer user you are. As far
as computer fans go, people are either consumers or producers. I see
myself as a producer, so Linux fits me like nothing else could.
Others are consumers and just want to do work and couldn't care less
if they know relational algebra or big-little-endian encoding -
seeing their mobile phone sync with their computer "does it for
them". And most Mac users of my association fall into that second
category.
And if I did not see myself as a "producer" whom compiling code
and going all "Frankenstein" with packages "does it for me" - I
would probably also use a Mac and not Windows (definitely). But I
believe to make any comment that even suggests that Mac OS X and
Linux have anything in common at a deeper level is a patently
misleading comparison and shows a deep misunderstanding and
comprehension of Linux and the history of the Personal Computing
revolution of the past 20 years.
BTW, I love reading your articles!
Cheers,
Richard Ford
Red Hat Certified Engineer
- Hi Richard,
I very much enjoyed your letter, and I understand (and agree with)
where you're coming from. I've lived my life as a baseball fan in
hockey country. I don't disparage the overwhelming majority of my
fellow Canadians' passion for hockey, but it just doesn't do it
for me. On the other hand, I love baseball.
I guess it's the same with computer platforms. The Mac still
brings a smile to my face after a dozen years working on it,
because I find the "just works" reliability and its quality of
staying out of your way and letting you get on with what you're
doing so übercool. Windows users always seem to be
accommodating themselves and their work habits to the demands of
their computers. I find the Mac accommodates me.
I philosophically agree with you about the freedom and flexibility
of open source, and I'm not enchanted by Apple's proprietary
tight-assedness and enthusiasm for DRM. I am a mostly vicarious
Linux cheerleader, but messing about with code (or even typing
commands) just doesn't turn my crank, although I'm thankful that
it appeals to others like yourself.
And thanks for reading!
Charles
Snow Base Station Repair
From Robert Russo
A few weeks ago my snow base station stopped working. I could
connect to the base station via LAN or WiFi, but the base station was
not connecting to my DSL modem. It appeared the WAN port was
dead.
I did some research and found this website: http://bsrtech.com/html/snow.html
I inspected my motherboard, and sure enough, I had the same white
residue. I tried cleaning the contacts as suggested, but it didn't
solve the problem.
I looked into replacing the base station but in the end decided to
to have BSR Tech repair it for $45.
Rob Miller at BSR did an excellent job of communicating what was
involved and repaired the base station quickly.
Bob Russo
- Hi Bob,
Thanks for the report and tip. Always good to hear of good service
experiences.
Charles
Extending the AirPort Express Signal
From James Williamson
Charles,
I'm very keen on getting an AirPort Express, but I want to know if
my base station is compatible of AX's WDS (Wireless Distribution
System) so I can extend my wireless range to the back of the house.
Has anyone compiled a list of stations that will let the AirPort
Express tag along for the ride?
Thanks,
James Williamson
- Hi James,
I have no idea. Perhaps someone in readerland will be able to help
with this one.
Charles
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