MacFixIt

QuicKeys for Power Mac: Better (incredibly) late than never?

From a press release: "CE Software, Inc., today announced that the PowerPC native version of QuicKeys 3.5 will ship Monday, March 17. Accelerated to perform faster and more efficiently on Mac OS systems utilizing the PowerPC processor, the new version also offers increased compatibility with popular graphic design applications." This is the version that was announced as soon-to-be-released sometime in mid-1996.

PopUp Folder conflict with MacOS 7.6

Edward Floden reports a problem with ASD's PopUp Folder shortcuts and Mac OS 7.6: "A keyboard shortcut cannot be created using the Add button in the PopUpFolder control panel. You can click Add, then select a target for the shortcut; but immediately upon clicking Select for that target, PopUpFolder will freeze, locking up the computer. Most times, a Restart alert will be displayed, indicating a type 10 error." This was confirmed by ASD Software who promises a new version at some undetermined future time.

Error -49 when printing

I have seen several reports (such as one from Paul Lisowski) of this -49 error (file already open with write permission), appearing with avariety of different networked (and possibly non-networked) printers, after updating to Mac OS 7.6. Usually it means that you cannot modify a file in a given application because it is already open in another application. The exact cause here appears to be unknown, but one user reported that zapping the PRAM eliminated the problem.

Fetch 3.0.2 bug fixed

Last week, we reported on a bug in Fetch 3.0.2 where characters may be dropped when viewing a text file. Today's MRP reports that this has been fixed in Fetch 3.0.3, currently available on the MRP itself and soon to be on the Fetch page.

Margin Notes: Losing faith with Time

I picked up the latest issue of Time magazine yesterday and came across an article entitled "A Crisis of Faith." It has prompted me to write an editorial response, which I use to introduce what may become a regular occasional feature called "Margin Notes."

MacFixIt "secret word" contest coming

As promised previously, with the first anniversary of this site approaching next week (plus the million visits mark coming on the counter any day now), we would celebrate with a contest. It will start on Monday when I post the updates. Here's the deal. The first person to tell me the correct secret word will win a free copy of the third edition of Sad Macs. A free copy will also go to one other person, randomly selected from all the people that send in the correct secret word within 24 hours of my receiving the first correct response. more

CFM-68K Runtime Enabler 4.0: Crashes; OSL 1.2?

Regarding the newly released CFM-68K Runtime Enabler 4.0:

a. Freezes and crashes Larry Andrick writes that with the new Enabler installed, his Mac "freezes immediately after loading (or attempting to load) the CFM-68K extension. It does not appear to be a conflict per se, because this same thing happens even if I disable all other control panels and extensions."

Brian Holroyd confirms this same symptom: "I installed the new CFM-68K Runtime Enabler v. 4.0 and had repeated crashes during bootup just as the CFM-68K Runtime Enabler icon came onto the screen." Reverting to CFM-68K more

ObjectSupportLib 1.2 problems?

Speaking of OSL 1.2, I continue to get reports that it has not solved all the problems that plagued earlier versions of this file. Here are two recent examples:

a. William Pimentel reports a bug with Strata Studio Pro and OSL 1.2: "It won't let you see the objects in shaded / flat view. You must use OSL 1.1.8 and have at least 48 megs of physical RAM."

Update: Meredith Lesly reports that this problem may be more related to a bug in QuickDraw 3D than to OSL. She has details on her web site.more

1010 Errors and OT/PPP Strip: An explanation and a work-around

Dennis Wilkinson (author of the OT/PPP Strip program mentioned here last week as the cause of 1010 errors in the Chooser) writes that, in his experience, the error is more often seen in the Finder than in the Chooser. Further: "It is in fact the only reproducible bug I've had reported with the module. The problem is that the PPP Commands scripting extension, which I poll for PPP state information, and whose code is already loaded into memory, calls OT/PPP's libraries (Apple's, not mine) while are loaded dynamically. The error 1010 is being reported more

Global Village Speakerphone Update

There is a new Global Village Speakerphone Edition Modem 1.0.1 and ROM 2.004 Update available.

Although Kingsley Kwong reported getting a "Fatal Error" message when trying to install the ROM update, most users (including Joe Kriz and Kent Richardson) are reporting problem-free success with this update.