Tex-Edit Plus Going Cocoa
From Tom Bender, the author of Tex-Edit Plus:
Hi Charles:
Thank you for all the great articles. (It's how I'm keeping up with
the Mac universe.) I hope life is treating you well.
I'm still relying on my trusty old G5 Power Mac and OS X 10.4. (Do you ever wish that
OS X 10.7 simply consisted of the guts/power/stability of 10.6
underpinning the elegant user interface of OS 9? Yeah, me too.
Maybe I'm getting old.)
Since Piovanelli dropped development of the WASTE text engine recently, I am
gearing up to recode the whole Tex-Edit
Plus app into Cocoa. Getting the app running in Cocoa is not such a
big deal, but getting the app running well enough not to break the
myriad of existing scripts is going to take a while!
What I need is a 3 month hiatus from my day job! :-)
Happy Holidays,
Tom
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the kind words and the update on your TE+
roadmap. TE+ remains my do-all (almost) right-hand factotum
application. A backward compatible Cocoa-based version sounds
delicious.
My bro-in-law is still happily getting along with his
G5 iMac. I have to say, now
that I've tasted life in the Intel lane, I would find it difficult to
go back. That said, I'm still getting really great service from my old
G4 Pismos within their
realistic limitations.
Your idea for OS X 10.7 is appealing. I've always
liked the Classic OS interface better than OS X's, but my personal
fantasy is OS X 10 guts/power/stability with a System 6 UI skin,
which remains my ne plus ultra favorite Mac OS look.
Getting old? Need a sabbatical? I can identify!
Charles
Yep, System 6 was right purty! :-)
Take care,
Tom
Spaces: I Don't Get It
From Bruce:
Regarding your Spaces
article:
I'm one who doesn't "get" Spaces, and your article seemed more like
a "how" than a "why".
I work primarily on a laptop - a 13" MacBook Pro, which
recently replaced a 12" PowerBook. Most
of the time I work with a single window from a single program "on top".
If I need to switch to another window or program, I use the Window menu
or the Dock. I tried Spaces but still had to click the menu to switch
to another space (never quite got the hang of the keyboard shortcut -
always ended up in the wrong space), so Spaces didn't seem to save any
effort. How is changing Spaces different from just changing windows or
programs?
When I need to have two windows visible at once, I use an external
monitor. I don't see how Spaces can replace the external monitor.
If I frequently needed to view multiple windows at once on one
screen, perhaps Spaces would be useful to me.
I couldn't really tell what was going on in the screenshot in the
article, but if that is your set up, it looks like most of your Spaces
(6/9) are primarily showing one window.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
For me the advantage of Spaces is organization - the
ability to keep multiple projects and works in progress open and neatly
in their own Space without having a lot of windows open, overlapping,
hidden, etc.
I work on a 13" Unibody MacBook with
Spaces and a 14" Pismo (running Tiger) without Spaces, and Spaces is
what I miss most in Tiger compared with Leopard.
I mostly use an external keyboard with the MacBook,
and switching Spaces using the numeric keypad quickly became second
nature.
Incidentally, I cut my Leopard teeth, so to speak, on
a 17" PowerBook and
even with the larger screen I soon became addicted.
But different strokes.... (keystrokes? ;-)
)
Charles
Editor's note: I'm new to using Spaces, and I'm using
it primarily to keep apps such as iTunes and iPhoto from cluttering up
my primary workspace. Each of these apps is assigned its own space, so
there's no additional clutter when running these programs either.
dk
Chemical Sensitivities
From Greg:
Charles,
I read with interest your recent Low End Mac article, Handing Off My 17" PowerBook
G4.
I am finding not sensitive issues with regards to computers but
everyday scents: i.e., colognes, household cleaners, etc. Seems the
scent gets caught in my nose and will stay there a long time. My issue
started about four years ago in that everything had the smell of
Freon®. I had my nose checked for polyps, and nothing was
found.
I had not heard of your predicament with smell and am sympathetic to
you. I miss my smell before the change - I actually felt I had a more
broad sense at that time. Now it is confined to certain odors and is
exaggerated by dairy and other milk products of which I am challenged
to avoid. But avoiding the dairy, as I am lactose intolerant, does not
matter.
Though like the sensitivity you mention, I am generally not sickened
by the odor. I just get very stressed of smelling the scent over and
over all day long as it "hangs" in my nostrils.
Best of luck.
Greg
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your comments.
If computer chemical emissions were my only problem
with environmental chemicals I would consider myself very
fortunate.
Increased awareness of particular odors is a common
characteristic of developing chemical sensitivity.
In 20-20 hindsight, I realize that I've been
struggling with this since the late 1960s at least, and the onset was
gradual. Spending a cumulative month-plus flat on my back with bad flu
infections (serially four illnesses over about six months) in 1989 is
what seems to have pushed me over the edge from chemical sensitivity
being a moderate annoyance and inconvenience to full-blown
semi-disabling MCS. I recall opening
my dresser drawer after recovering from that 4th bout of flu and being
overwhelmed by the laundry detergent odor - something I'd previously
been essentially oblivious to. Thank God for Tide Free and
equivalents, and forget about fabric softeners!
Heck, I used to work in auto body shops, in boatyards,
and was a marine paint and chemical sales specialist - a history my
docs tell me is probably not coincidental to my developing MCS in
conjunction with a presumed genetic predisposition. Seems like another
life now, and in many respects it was.
Charles
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Older
Electronics
From Kurt:
Re: Handing Off My 17" PowerBook G4:
Hiya!
That's a really cool setup you have there.
I have a friend who lives in Houston, Texas, and has an amazing
number of health issues - including chemical sensitivities (moving out
of Houston would help her boatloads, I'll wager, but that's another
story).
For years I've kept her supplied and supported with the "trailing
edge" of Apple tech - currently, she's running a WallStreet that I built for her
out of spare parts that's running Mac OS X 10.3.9, along with an
old AirPort Base Station she can use for her dial-up service.
As modern inkjet printers also wreak havoc with her, I've got an
ImageWriter
II with network card rigged into the Base Station via a Farallon
EtherWave LocalTalk to Ethernet Transceiver* so she can print drafts
and the occasional labels or whatnot without all the chemical stuff
from the inks. Bonus - the Farallon and the ImageWriter have also out
gassed.
[I actually really miss that ImageWriter II rig myself - I
used it for literally decades. Wireless printing to an ImageWriter II -
how cool is that? :D ]
I've actually thought this aspect of Low End Mac - and indeed
low-end computing in general - is extremely important; it
allows folks like my friend - and yourself - access to modern
technology without having to deeply impact their health in a negative
way.
Good luck in your endeavors.
Peace,
Kurt
Hi Kurt,
Thanks, and good on you for helping your friend with
the obligatory low-end hardware solutions she requires.
My wife spent a semester at the University of Houston
in the early 70s, and from her recollections the air quality there must
be a nightmare for anyone with MCS.
I get along okay with inkjet printers, my current one
being a Canon Pixma
IP2000.* I also still have an ImageWriter in excellent condition,
and I loved that printer, but none of the Macs I have in use these days
have the necessary serial port. I think my old WallStreet (still in
service with my daughter as her beater) was the last that did.
BTW; are you still able to find ribbons for the
IW?
Is there some sort of USB to serial adapter that you
know of?
Charles
Hi Charles,
Good to know about the inkjets; I was concerned about the inks (so
is my friend). We may upgrade her to one at least to try.
[Not entirely altruistic - I really miss my ImageWriter II...
;) ]
Don't use a serial; she's running it on her Wallstreet via Ethernet
(OS X sadly turns the Serial Port off of the WallStreet. I tried to
recompile a driver for it a long time ago; hours later, I gave
up).
Download the
FooMatic Drivers for the ImageWriter and ImageWriter II, load in
GhostScript,
and you're totally ready to rock and roll. Works great over Ethernet
with a Farallon EtherWave LocalTalk-to-Ethernet Transceiver; I also
have used a Dayna LocalTalk to Ethernet Transceiver - worked great in
10.3.9 and 10.4.11. I never tried it in OS X 10.5.8 (I gave it to
my friend before that update), but as it's PPC, it'll work fine I
wager. Mac OS X 10.6.x removes the PPC Code - to allow it to work,
you'll need a PPC machine to bridge it. It should work on a 10.6.x
machine though, if it's shared from a computer running 10.5.8 on
down.
I used to get ribbons for it at
Office Depot; they were about
$4 to $5. Another reason I love it - it's cheap to feed.
Several common printers use this same ribbon: the NEC
8023, some C. Itoh, etc. Office Depot sells the black ribbons - Nu-kote
brand, part# NK160 - for about $5 each. They also carry the Color
ribbon. Sam's Club may still sell them, or, you can order the ribbons
through Staples and Hallmark stores.
Another source is michaelhint@wycol.com. In a
newsgroup posting he offers to supply black ribbons for about $.75 each
plus shipping ($3.55 for up to around 10) and color ribbons for about
$3.00 plus shipping.
By: Mike Ford, Sandra Warnken, michaelhint, Donald L
Johnson
Here ya go:
PrintCountry.com. WOW - 6 for $20. that's even better.
Only Serial to USB connector I've ever looked at is for a Garmin 12.
Never bought one (I have an old Garmin 12 that a friend gave me; built
like a tank, I love it, and have considered connecting it to my
PowerBook 3400 to make a nifty
interactive mapping rig). It might work....
Oh, the other thing I like about impact printers - they can sit
around for a long time without use and don't gum up like inkjets do. My
friend doesn't print often (neither do I), so it was a perfect solution
for her.
That's for emailing back; I enjoy reading your work on the 'net and
have enjoyed corresponding with you from time to time over the past few
years.
Peace,
Kurt
Hi Kurt,
Thanks for the further advice, information, and
links.
One cautionary note on the inkjets - just because I
tolerate them doesn't guarantee that your friend will, although it's
worth a try. Chemical sensitivity is nothing if not idiosyncratic from
one individual to another.
Also agreed about the dormancy virtue of impact
printers. I am not an intensive hard copy guy either and can go a month
or more between printing jobs.
Charles
Runtime Revolution Can Replace HyperCard
From Aaron:
For Bruce, who's using
HyperCard under OS 9:
Runtime Revolution, which is
out for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, will import and run HyperCard
stacks, and is a very HyperCard-like programming language.
When I got it, revMedia was still commercial; now it's free to
use.
Thanks for the tip, Aaron.
Charles
Connecting Old Printers to Modern Macs Using Low
Cost Adapters
From Bill:
Dear Charles,
I think you did not give Jean Lee as much info as you could have in
Snow Leopard vs. LocalTalk.
Please feel free to forward the following to her, and she is welcome
to contact me directly at [full name and email address redacted for
publication] for details.
http://forums.macnn.com/57/consumer-hardware-and-components/31609/localtalk-printer-to-new-mac/
You linked Sept 9 to these sites:
The best suggestions that would work with a LaserWriter 600 were a "Print Server"
such as:
- $46 is about the cheapest:
StarTech PM1115P Print Server RJ45 1 x Centronics 36 Male. This
type supports only one printer and needs no additional cables, but you
would probably want to pay just $4 to $7 more and get one that
simultaneously shares both a USB and parallel printer:
- $50
TRENDnet TE100-P11 Print Server RJ45 USB 2.0, Parallel
- $53 Hawking
HPS12U 2 USB + 1 Parallel Internet Print Server RJ45 2 x USB 1.1 Ports
1 x Parallel Printer Port
Might not work with all USB printers, but will work fine with LW600,
since it is postscript.
Both of these support AppleTalk (which is easier to setup) or LPR
protocol (which works fine with Snow Leopard, I can confirm.)
What would be ideal is a print server similar to above that
supported the Rendezvous [editor's note: now Bonjour] protocol and an
parallel port printer, but I don't think that is easy to find at a
reasonable price.
Of course, if you have even a very old non-Mac PC laptop or desktop
- even with a dead hard drive - that could be setup as a print server,
booting from a Linux live CD. Besides the usual (Knoppix, etc.), this
SLAMPP looks
encouraging.
It might even be possible to get this to do wake-on-LAN so it's not
running all the time!
Or an old Mac can share it out, but you probably would not want to
leave it running.
- Hope this helps,
Bill
P.S. I posted
part of this info on the OWC blog, and I'll update that with a
how-to for the live CD method when I have time.
Hi Bill,
Thanks muchly for the helpful information, which I've
forwarded to Jeany.
Charles
Jeany's New Printer
From Jean:
Hello Charles:
Thank you for your email.
It's really nice that the users are willing to help me, but my dad
actually bought me a new printer for my birthday, since he couldn't get
why I couldn't let my printer go.
But I still have it, and it's kicking. I use the other printer as a
copy machine only. (It's one of those Samsung all-in-ones.)
-jeany
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