From: xxltony@cts.com (Tony Lindsey)
Subject: Mac*Chat#096/15-Nov-95

Mac*Chat#096/15-Nov-95
======================

Welcome to Mac*Chat, the weekly electronic newsletter for everyone
  interested in using a Macintosh computer professionally, no matter
  what their situation or profession.

See the end of this file for further information, including how to get a free
  subscription and how to contribute donations to keep Mac*Chat thriving.

Any [comments in brackets] are by Tony Lindsey.

Topics:
Highlights Of This Issue
Editor's Notes
Power Computing (And Radius) Clone Feedback
Tracking-Down Laser Printer Cartridges
Faxing Software
Publicity For New Web Sites, Continued
Publicity For New Web Sites, From The Other Side
Managing High Volume Mailing Lists, Continued
Legalisms and Information
Free Subscriptions To This Newsletter

Highlights Of This Issue
------------------------
  Since I received so many messages responding to questions in
  issue #95, I decided to post many of the best answers for a few
  of the most-popular questions.  We hear about Mac clones from the
  user's standpoint, finding new and used laser printer cartridges,
  dependable faxing software, really solid advice about publicity
  for your Web site, and tips for people who get too many e-mailed
  messages.

Editor's Notes
--------------
  By Tony Lindsey <xxltony@cts.com>

  I sure get plenty of e-mail...

  Lately, for some reason, Shrimmy (the Mac*Chat list manager) and
  I have been intercepting a LOT of messages aimed at Mac*Chat's
  mailing-list - Asian musical CD's for sale and the like.  It's
  irritating, but I don't mind deleting such unsolicited junk-mail,
  as long as our subscribers aren't getting anything unwelcome
  through this mailing list.

  -----

  As a consultant, my business goes up and down according to some
  pattern that I can't always predict.  During the "up" season, I'm
  making great gobs of money, and my ability to return or
  acknowledge Mac*Chat e-mail goes WAY down.  As a good example,
  I've received 811 messages in the last seven days.  Some days I
  have to get up at 3 AM just to try and catch up, and then I have
  to work on my real job.  I take naps during the day to keep fresh.

  I'd like everybody in Mac*ChatLand to know that I always read
  _every_ e-mail message, and I feel honored that so many people
  want to contribute their wisdom.  I'm sorry if you haven't gotten
  properly acknowledged in person.  It's nothing personal.

  -----

  I'd like to hear any first-hand stories from folks who have been
  ripped-off by using their credit-card information over the
  Internet, or signing-up for an online service.  There has been a
  lot of discussion of **potential** problems with financial
  transfers.

  I dislike the idea of contributing to general paranoia, fear,
  uncertainty and doubt (possibly spread by folks who have security
  software to sell), but I'm wondering how pervasive the problem
  really may be.  Please, no gossip or hearsay!

  -----

  Claude Errera (the volunteer who maintains the Webified version
  of Mac*Chat is going to Peru and will be gone for two weeks.  He
  won't be able to get the newest issues up on the web site until
  after the 26th.

Power Computing (And Radius) Clone Feedback
-------------------------------------------
  [In issue #95, I asked about the Power Computing Macintosh clones
  - I wanted to know about the day-to-day support and
  upgradeability...]

  <800-375-7693><512-258-1350><info@powercc.com>
  <http://www.powercc.com>

  -----

  By Kirk DeCardenas-Kline, Denver, Colorado <kirk@media.com>

  I bought a Power 100 (equivalent to an Apple 8100/100) in June.
  It came with 24MB RAM, 4x CD drive, 1GB hard drive and an Apple
  AV card.  With this much computer I haven't yet had to upgrade,
  but I plan to upgrade in the future.

  After receiving my computer, I spent some time snooping around
  inside to see just how easy it would be to upgrade.  It looks
  like it's upgrade options are superior to Apple's computers, in
  one regard.  Instead of having the I/O functions on the
  motherboard, they reside on a daughtercard. I'm guessing that in
  the future, someone will develop a replacement I/O daughtercard,
  with Fast & Wide SCSI or FireWire.

  The somewhat-large desktop case is about 6" wider than a Quadra
  650.  This added size gives me more options than a Quadra 650.
  It allows me to have a floppy drive, a hard drive and a CD-ROM
  drive installed, and still have room to add another half-height
  drive.  The large box size also makes it easy to access the
  drives and the RAM.

  I figured a savings of $800 for mine [over the cost of an
  equivalent Apple].

  It's my understanding that the new 604-based clones, will be like
  Apple's 604-based machines in that it will allow a processor
  upgrade without having to swap out the motherboard.  (While I'm
  speaking of the 604-based clones, I should mention that I've been
  comparing their prices to comparable 604-based Macs.  I've found
  that the clones are about $1000 less expensive than the Macs.)

  The customer support (including tech support) at Power Computing
  is un-real. I've sent questions to tech support via e-mail and
  received a detailed response within 10 hours.  I called tech
  support once and had to hold for about 10 seconds.  A couple of
  weeks ago, I received an unsolicited copy of Avid VideoShop 3.0
  (retail $260) in the mail.  After some checking, I found out that
  Power Computing had sent it.  They had not included any
  video-editing software at the time of purchase, and since my
  computer included an AV card, they just sent it (no charge, of
  course).



  --------

  By Tim Perdue <perduet5103@cobra.uni.edu>

  I got a Power 120 from them a bit over a month ago and had a
  tremendous amount of trouble with it, starting with hardware then
  once that was solved, I ran into software compatibility problems.

  Tech support was friendly, but never solved my problems. When the
  computer was sent back for work, all the did was disable an
  extension, not telling me that Sound Manager 3.1 was incompatible
  with their hardware.

  Also, you cannot run the System 7.5 update on a Power 120 without
  first hacking it with a patch from Output Enablers (Power won't
  tell you this, I had to read it on the net).

  After more than two weeks of haggling their tech people, I
  finally solved the problem: I downloaded a freeware control panel
  called "Who am I?", and that solved all my problems. It made my
  Power 120 think it was an 8100/100 and now everything is dandy.

  The best URL is 'The Clock Chipping Home Page'

  <http://bambam.cchem.berkeley.edu/~schrier/mhz.html>

  Scroll down several screens and you'll see an HREF to download
  the Output

  Enablers System 7.5 Update patch, as well as 'Who Am I?', and a
  blurb on both.

  Very fast computer -- I swear it's *more* than 20% faster than my
  real 8100/100. I don't know why, but it just feels like it.

  All in all, I'm pretty happy, but their tech support could have
  been a LOT better. They should have been in touch with their
  engineers, who knew that Sound Manager 3.1 was incompatible. The
  problem could have been solved in a day or so. In the end, it was
  my own efforts that made the computer work, not Power Computings.

  -------

  By Manolis Papastefanou, Thessaloniki, Hellas, Greece
  <mpap@hypernet.hyper.gr>

  My company, Escape Information Services, develops and distributes
  software for the Macintosh. We are also in consulting business.
  Recently we started suggesting (and selling) Mac clones (both
  Radius and Power Computing).

  Our chief developer works on one of the first Power 100s imported
  in Greece.

  If you watch only the screen, you can't feel the difference from
  the original 8100/100. Even the board and chips are all the same.
  Even the Apple design keyboard.

  The box is different and unfortunately it shows. If you are used
  to Macs, you have different standards, I guess. The thing that
  "hit" me the most was the back side. Very "PC-ish". There is no
  autoswitching power supply. You have to switch from 110V to 220V
  using a small switch. So users outside US should be careful. The
  disk drive is something else that I didn't like. In some cases
  it's not well put and the disk as it's ejected hits the outside
  box. But inside there is a lot of space and all the parts are
  easily accessible. The expected plug'n'play is still there.

  As people say, what you give is what you get. The money saved is
  approximately the same with what you mention (about 300 USD - may
  be a little more), but because here we have problems with the
  company that imports Apple machines in Greece, there is much more
  to gain. Quick delivery and the ability to order the machine with
  the configuration you want. Hard disk, RAM and whether there will
  be a CD or not can be decided by the buyer upon order. You can
  also buy a Power Computing with no screen, something that can not
  be done with Macs down here!

  As of technical support, we just needed them once. The local
  distributor replaced our client's machine even though they didn't
  manage to duplicate the problem when we sent it to them. I know
  that the company offers free life time technical support and 3
  days maximum of waiting, but we haven't tested that yet.

  As a conclusion, Power Computing is a disguised Macintosh, what
  we should expect from a Mac clone, I guess. There is absolutely
  no comparison with the IBM compatibles which you can find even at
  the grocery's store nowadays. We are very pleased with it, and we
  suggest it to our clients. But we have to keep in mind that it's
  not an Apple, with all the pros and cons that this includes.

  To tell you the truth I like the Radius clone better, but that's
  another story ;)

  -------

  By <lawton@monroe.amcc.rochester.edu>

  I just wanted to make you aware that MacZone (and presumably
  other vendors) have slashed their price for the Radius 81/110 (a
  Mac 8100 clone).

  MacZone:
  <206-603-2570/800-248-0800>
  <http://www.maczone.com/maczone>

  The new price is not in their most recent catalogs, but for $2199
  one can get a 110 Mhz PPC 601 Mac with 16 megs of RAM, 730 meg
  HD, quad-speed CD-ROM, including keyboard and mouse.  The kicker
  is that Radius offers a $200 rebate to the consumer.  The machine
  comes with a system 7.5.1 CD with a couple of hard drive and CD
  utilities, but no other bundled software.  MacZone does include
  RamDoubler with all CPU purchases.  The benchmark tests I have
  run on my new Radius 81/110 show it to have identical performance
  characteristics compared to the Mac 8100.

  [Hmmm - Could this be because Radius is having trouble in the
  market, and may not be around for long?  That's the impression I
  got from a recent TidBITs, anyway...]

  <ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/issues/1995/TidBITS#303_13-Nov-95.etx>

  -------

  By Michael Go <mikego@halcyon.com>

  I purchased a Power 100 directly from Power Computing a month
  ago. I've been quite satisfied with it. I got my computer a week
  after I ordered it via Federal Express. (Power Computing says
  they make each box to your choice of configurations which takes
  them a few days.) Somebody called me to confirm the delivery date
  and another person called me a day after I had received my
  computer to find out if everything was okay. Altogether, I think
  Power Computing's customer service seems to be better than
  Apple's (perhaps, this may be because they get fewer calls than
  Apple; I wonder if this will change when their volume revs up). I
  have e-mailed tech support and they've responded within a day or
  two. I expect their phone support to be just as responsive.

  The Power 100 is easy to upgrade. Since all Power Computing
  computer cases look similar (probably to cut the costs down), I
  presume that all of them are as easy to open as mine. My Power
  100 has a thumb screw at the back. Unscrew it, lift the cover,
  and you're in the computer innards. The SIMM slots are in direct
  view with no protuberances that would make their installation an
  exercise of finger flexibility. I installed extra SIMMs with
  considerable ease (I still recall how much an adventure
  installing SIMMs were in the old SE/30s!). The cache slots are
  also out in the open so that you can also easily add to the
  standard 256K L2 cache if you wished.

  My computer came with 5 bays (the tower model has 6 bays). One is
  taken by the floppy, another by a hard drive, and another by a CD
  ROM drive. That left an empty front and back bay. I think the
  front one is available for an internal Zip drive and the back one
  is for another hard drive. I fiddled with mine and I found out
  that it wouldn't be hard for a moderately Mac-savvy person to
  install an extra hard drive with some help from Power Computing
  personnel (small details like termination, etc.). One novel thing
  about the back bay is that the top bay swings open when you
  release a screw so that you can easily reach the bottom bay
  without too much difficulty.

  Unlike the 7500 though, the PPC601 is soldered to the motherboard
  and is not upgradeable. However (and I know I'll be wrong in a
  year or two), a 100mhz chip will be more than adequate for most
  tasks!

  There were only two things that I found the Power 100 lacking.
  First is the lack of a power outlet for a monitor. Perhaps I've
  been spoiled by my old IIci automatically powering down my
  monitor and being a creature of habit, I've found myself
  forgetting to turn off my monitor (only to discover it days
  later!). The second is the Power 100's speaker sounds tinny and
  cheap for my taste. I'm seriously thinking of investing in some
  external speakers. The internal one certainly doesn't hack it
  when you're playing an audio CD! Another thing. The Power 100's
  fan is a trifle loud. Actually, there are two fans: one in the
  power supply and the other one to cool the CPU. The CPU fan is
  installed behind the front grille of the AT-style box. You'll
  *definitely* know there is a fan in your box!

  All in all though, I'm very satisfied with my Power 100 and would
  strongly recommend it to anyone looking to purchase a Power Mac.

Tracking-Down Laser Printer Cartridges
--------------------------------------
  By Glenn Kowalski, Washington DC <studio405@radix.net>

  I found it in the MacZone catalog [See above for contact info],
  although others probably have it too. My Local Apple dealer, Mac
  Business Solutions <301-330-4074> in Gaithersburg, Maryland has
  them.

  Here's some more info that should help--the same cartridge fits a
  Compaq Pagemarq 15 and 20, Dataproducts LZR 1560, 1580, 2060 and
  2080. I got this from the side of the box.

  I don't know how in the world you've been getting the cartridges
  for $115! They must be reconditioned. They've always cost over
  $200 and now they sell "extended capacity" versions for around
  $300.

  -------

  By Jay Parr, Ontario, Canada <jparr@igs.net>

  I find that most retailers haven't a clue about laser cartridges
  for anything other than the current models.  They are not very
  helpful. Luckily, I live near a large city, Ottawa Canada, and
  have found the local cartridge recyclers (we have two) to be the
  best source of information about cartridges.  "These Guys Know
  Cartridges" and are proud of it!

  Their view of the situation is not the printer's make and model;
  it's the laser engine make and model.  They really understand
  interchangeability because that is their bread and butter!

  Cartridge recycling got a bad name when it started because the
  people doing it were not able to buy the correct parts and
  toners.  It was a basement and garden shed industry.  Today it is
  a pretty respectable business, they can obtain the correct parts
  and toner, and the result is a very good product.

  I suggest you look in your printer manual to determine the make
  and model of the laser engine (e.g., Canon LBP-LX) and call a
  recycler.  They often sell new cartridges too.

  -------

  By Todd Nagengast, Anchorage, Alaska <todd@alaska.net>

  If done correctly, a recycled toner cartridge yields more higher
  quality prints than a new one. This is because the imaging drum
  is replaced, and the toner is allowed to settle, and therefore
  more can be added.

  The other plus is that you keep more junk out of land fills,
  helping the environment.  Oh, and don't forget all that money you
  save!

  ------

  By Tuomas Eerola, Vaasa, Finland <te@UWasa.Fi>

  AppleLaserWriter Pro810 uses the same engine as the Dataproducts
  Typhoon 20.

  <http://www.dpc.com/market/ty20_spe.html>

  -------

  By Daniel Walker <walker@usit.net>

  If I remember properly, the LW 810 was Apple's first fancy 11x17
  multiple network-serving printer with the option of dozens of
  paper bins, communications ports and communications protocols
  (IPX, LAT, EtherTalk, TCP/IP, etc.). It had a few bugs in its
  AppleTalk protocol stack that made it nearly impossible to
  connect to COPS' PServe print spooler (that was an interesting
  few days of fruitless debugging.)

  The engine for that monster also went in a machine made by
  Dataproducts (not too popular a name in the PostScript biz, but
  very well-known for their line- printers and minicomputer
  connectivity). I don't know if DP manufactured the print engine
  for Xerox or vice versa.

Faxing Software
---------------
  [In issue #95, Brian Hydesmith asked for faxing software that
  wasn't problematic.  I got a large amount of e-mail praising
  Global Village faxmodems.  Personally, I stopped using fax
  software with my Supra because I couldn't stand the bugginess,
  and I thought EVERY brand was the same.]

  By Jay Parr, Ontario, Canada <jparr@igs.net>

  I know exactly what you mean about 'fussy'.  Stay away from
  Delrina.  I am still trying to get my money refunded from those
  guys.  Their software is a Windows design ported to a Mac and is
  very disappointing (it still ain't a Mac).

  There is only one real solution.  Buy a Global Village fax/modem.
  The best Mac fax software comes in the box.  It is a wonderful
  product designed and written for their modems and the Mac.
  Unfortunately, it is not designed to run with other modems but
  neither is Faxcilitate.

  It is a seemingly expensive approach but you, or some of your
  clients, are likely thinking of upgrading your fax/modem anyways.
  You will never regret the decision.  I smile every time I send
  or receive a fax.  The s/w is so ssmmooootthh, what a delight
  after struggling with about four other fax packages.

  -------

  By Garry Margolis <garrym@netcom.com>

  Amen regarding FaxSTF. It came with my Supra 14.4 modem and I
  struggled with various versions of it for quite some time.

  Street price on GV TelePort Platinums in Los Angeles is below
  $200 now.

Publicity For New Web Sites, Continued
--------------------------------------
  [In issue #94, I mentioned a few sites that will help you get
  publicity for your Web site...]

  By Peter Morgan <pmorgan@morgan-news.com>

  Other sites for distributing the message:

  Pointers to Pointers links to several fee and free announcement
  sites:

  <http://www.homecom.com/global/pointers.html>

  Eric Ward's NetPOST(tm) lists your site in about 70 directories,
  search engines, etc. for a fee, on a basis that's customized for
  the specific sites; send e-mail message to: netpost@netpost.com

  A site that lists a couple hundred directory-style sites where
  your site can be listed (but you have to visit each one) is at:

  <http://www.vir.com/~wyatt/>

  or

  <http://www.mbs-program.com/MBS/

  For web traffic tips and ideas, plus links to fee and free sites,
  check out:

  <http://www.mmgco.com/online/webstep.html>

Publicity For New Web Sites, From The Other Side
------------------------------------------------
  [I saw this posting in the Internet Marketing mailing list, and
  received permission to re-post it.  I feel it's important to work
  WITH the people who are doing you the courtesy of listing your
  Web page, like Ted.]

  By Ted Resnick

  Regarding getting listed in the various Internet search engines
  and directories, I can tell you what things look like from here
  at The McKinley.  We, and the others directory services are
  getting hundreds, if not thousands of submissions a day, and for
  us, the kicker is that we have humans (myself included) who not
  only confirm the address, but also spend time rating the site.

  It is a frustrating fact that no search engine or directory will
  catch up with the backlog of all the sites that are "out there,"
  but here are some comments that I can offer after talking with
  our feedback editor about this recent thread.

  First and foremost, include the CORRECT URL in all submissions
  and correspondence.  You would be surprised how many times we
  receive an address that no longer exists, is misspelled, or has
  no URL listed in the first place.

  Although there is a convenience factor to "Submit It" and other
  placement services, most search tools have their own
  idiosyncratic requests.  For example, we not only will list your
  entry and our review, but we also have fields for keywords,
  audience types, mailing address, etc.  The upshot is that it may
  be to you advantage to list with each search engine directly, as
  they may have more than the minimum fields of just a URL.

  As the list has seen other folks confirm this, your entry will
  probably be considered faster if you follow up with a message to
  the feedback editor or administrative person  (the email address
  is usually on the submission form.) If you write in, remember
  that we are human and that we are working as quickly as we can,
  so letters to the effect of 'why don't you get off your butt and
  list us...' are not very productive.

  In addition to our submission form, we also get sites from our
  Web Robot, scanning other media sources, and word of mouth.  An
  interesting challenge is to avoid duplicating sites. Therefore,
  you should not resubmit sites using the form. The best way to
  find out what happened is to write to our feedback editor.

  A distinction between Yahoo/Webcrawler/Infoseek and directories
  like The McKinley and Point Communications is that the latter has
  an emphasis on evaluating sites for content.  In response to
  public opinion and internal research, The McKinley has revamped
  our ratings criteria.  It is now much harder to receive a 4-star
  evaluation. Given this fact, and the always increasing number of
  submissions, you stand the best chance of being reviewed if your
  site actually has quality content and design. I tend to ignore
  sites that have huge areas that are 'under construction' or are
  primarily 'business card sites'  I would expand this to a general
  rule of not announcing your site too early. It is annoying to the
  user if they get to your site, and you do not deliver the
  information or features that are promised.

  Of course, we also go back to re-review sites to make sure that
  they still exist and to see if they still merit their original
  reviews.  But that takes time too, so the better your site is
  when you submit it, the more likely a flattering review will stay
  there. The reverse is also true.

  Someone asked about the ordering of the results page.  For the
  most part, the sites with the closest word matches to search
  criteria will come up first.  So the more specific a user's
  search, the better the result.  We also have an advanced search
  menu that allows the user to focus searches, (i.e., only pick
  from a particular umbrella category or a minimum of 3 stars.)

  Finally, we are experimenting with expanding our "Unrated Sites
  Section" to address the backlog as well.  I will post an update
  to the list when appropriate...

  Please forgive the length of this post, and I hope that my points
  are helpful.  I am sure that there are other factors involved,
  especially with so many individual search engines to list with,
  but I think that this information should be applicable to most of
  them.

  Ted Resnick, Senior Writer <tedres@mckinley.com>
  The  McKinley  Group <http://www.mckinley.com/>
  Authors of the Magellan Internet Directory &
  1996 McKinley Internet Yellow Pages

Managing High Volume Mailing Lists, Continued
---------------------------------------------
  By Jim Carr, Los Angeles, CA <Jim.Carr@latimes.com>

  I have found the best way to handle busy mailing lists (Mac-L and
  info-Mac are often 50 items a day) is to get them in digest
  format.

  My incoming mail arrives as a digest via a quickmail gateway and
  my Mac beeps me when mail arrives--about half is interoffice and
  needs quick attention so its running most of the time. (I can
  send via Eudora but not receive because we run SMTP but not POP
  on our server.) If its a digest, I save as text or extract
  enclosed file (depending on size) and dump it into an "incoming"
  folder. I could do the same thing if I was downloading a digest
  from a server which was storing them in an in basket for a
  dial-up user.

  When I have time to read my digests, I use Mail Converter (I have
  version 2.1a1), a Mac freeware program available at usual sites
  which converts everything in the incoming folder and dumps them
  into Eudora. (I don't know about a PC equivalent)

  Each digest becomes its own mailbox. I can sort them anyway
  freeware Eudora can, usually by subject. I can easily delete
  those subjects or senders within digest I don't care for and the
  rest is nicely threaded. Eudora's command-R addresses reply to
  sender and picks up correct subject.  I can save or delete each
  message in digest individually.

  I also like digests because it cuts way down on individual number
  of pieces in mailbox (I don't have any sorting running on
  incoming box) and the lower volume makes it much easier to find
  important stuff.

  Its nice that many mailing lists allow either option, so
  everybody can be happy. <G>

Legalisms and Information
-------------------------

Copyright 1989-1995 Tony Lindsey.

Whole issues of Mac*Chat may be copied freely, provided that
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This newsletter is intended purely as entertainment and free
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   opinions.  Time passes, so accuracy may diminish.

Publication, product, and company names may be registered
   trademarks of their companies.

-----

 This file is formatted as setext, which can be read on any text reader.
I'd enjoy hearing your feedback and suggestions.  Unfortunately,
  due to the massive numbers of messages I get every day, I can't
  guarantee a personal reply.  Send all such messages to:

  Tony Lindsey, <xxltony@cts.com>.
  <http://www.cts.com/browse/xxltony>
  3401-A55 Adams Avenue
  San Diego, CA 92116-2429

Tips from readers are gratefully accepted.  Please write them in a
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