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Utilities Updates

FixWordSystemMemory 2.1 is out. It is designed to fix the Word 5.1 problem that causes Word to occasionally refuse to start up "due to a lack of system memory." This new version fixes a problem which could cause printing from Word to fail. The new version is here at MacFixIt, as well as at Larry Rosenstein's web site.

ClockSync II 1.2.1 is out.

Mac OS 8.1 version of Disk First Aid: Apple replies on size issues

Awhile back, we mentioned that the Mac OS 8.1 version of Disk First Aid is a considerably larger file than any previous version. We speculated that this had to due with its support for HFS Plus. We contacted Apple for confirmation of this and recently received a reply:

First, noting a related matter that the version of Disk First Aid on the 8.1 Disk Tools disk is smaller than the main 8.1 version of DFA, Apple said: "The reason for this difference is just resource chopping to make it fit on the disk. None of the … Read more

Another sound 8.1 glitch

An Apple TIL file reports on yet another sound problem with Mac OS 8.1. This one involves the PC Compatibility Card: "The sound architecture in Mac OS 8.1 is different from that of previous versions of Mac OS. The sound source must be set to CD to be able to hear PC audio. PC Setup used to take the setting of the sound source when switching to the PC. When switching back to Mac OS, PC Setup would switch the sound source back to whatever it was. This no longer functions under Mac OS 8.1, so … Read more

V.90 upgrades: a follow-up

Several readers sent us information concerning whether a v.90 upgrade is "backward compatible" with existing lines ( as discussed last time) and whether or not you should upgrade to v. 90 now:

Reader Max notes that there will be no clear standard for the implementation of v.90 until September. He suggests waiting until then to upgrade. "If users are getting 40 - 50K speeds now, that's probably all they can get over a POTS anyhow."

Steven Polivy writes: "Hayes, on their web site, makes it quite clear that one should not perform a … Read more

Apple Data Detectors 1.0.2 issues

Regarding the recently reposted Apple Data Detectors 1.0.2:

Freeze at startup when logging on to a server Scott Schroeder writes: "The presence of the Apple Data Detector extension on a machine set to login via AppleShare to a remote server on startup causes a system freeze with Apple Data Detectors 1.0.2. This problem was also present on previous versions of ADD. The work-around is to change the extension loading order (i.e. rename the ADD extension to ~Apple Data Detectors Extension)."

Bob O'Shaughnessy had a similar problem. He isolated it to a conflict … Read more

Speed Doubler 8.1 is out

The eagerly anticipated Speed Doubler 8.1 is out! (Thanks, Gregory Sims.)

It features "compatibility with the new Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) format."

Also: There is a new option to allow the Speed Doubler 8 application to run continuously. This avoids the overhead of launching the application during copies and when the trash is emptied. To enable or disable this feature, turn on the Keep Speed Doubler 8 open check box in the Copy panel of the Speed Doubler 8 control panel."

Claris sends wrong ClarisWorks 5.0 disk; the correct disk is online

From Claris: "A batch of disks for ClarisWorks 5.0 (Macintosh) were distributed where Disk 3 had the contents of Disk 4 by accident. If you have one of these disk sets, you can download an image of Disk 3 from the Claris ftp site, and use it to restore the proper contents of floppy disk #3. (Thanks, Nicholas Young.)

VirusScan glitch can cause a delay that can appear to be a freeze

Rich Siegel (of Bare Bones Software) writes about a conflict between VirusScan and BBEdit (as well as several other popular programs) that can fool the user into thinking a system freeze has occurred:

VirusScan can be configured to perform a virus scan on 'Application Launch.' It turns out that when this option is selected, VirusScan evidently also scans any file that you open from within a standard 'Open' dialog box.

The problem is that some applications use avariation on the standard Open dialog for selecting folders. For example, BBEdit uses one to choose the starting point for a multi-file search. … Read more

Java-related crashes in Netscape 4.x browsers and the Shockwave plug-in: an explanation from Macromedia

Regarding our continuing reports on Java-related crashes with web browsers, reader Mark Lewis believed that this problem on his computer was related to the presence of the Shockwave plug-in. He contacted Macromedia Tech Support about this and they confirmed that crashes may indeed be precipitated by the presence of the Shockwave plug-in. However, the ultimate cause is an inability to load Java. In particular:

Both Shockwave and Flash plug-ins are LiveConnect-aware (a Java-based intercomponent communication scheme). If a Netscape 4.0 browser has not yet started Java in a session, the LiveConnect-awareness of a plug-in will cause Java to load … Read more