Troubleshooting

Apple says Newton's death is exaggerated

A letter from Sandy Benett (Vice President, Newton Systems Group) to developers asserts that: "An uninformed outsider's view of the situation coupled with relentless doom-n-gloom reports in the popular media could lead one to believe Apple was in the process of "shutting-down" the Newton division. This is not the case. The Newton platform is alive and well, and I hope we can count on your continued support."

WordPerfect 3.5.3 update: follow-up

Several readers report that the new WordPerfect 3.5.3 update (mentioned last time) fixes the conflict between WordPerfect and MacLinkPlus (that had been mentioned on the Troubleshooting Mac OS 7.6 page).

CFM-68K Runtime Enabler fix is coming soon

Apple has announced: "Fix for CFM-68k Runtime Enabler is in alpha stage. Public beta expected by the end of February." (Thanks, Chris.)

AppleTalk off at startup: another solution

Periodically, I have reported on a problem where users are either unable to turn AppleTalk on or are unable to have it remain on after a restart. Many solutions have been suggested; there appears to be no single solution that works for all situations. The February 11 Info Alley (and a matching TIL file) offers some insight into one cause of this problem:

"Open Transport is incompatible with all Assistant Toolbox versions prior to version 1.3. If you are using Mac OS 7.5.x and AppleTalk is off every time you restart your computer, check the version … Read more

New Macs due to arrive; Apple goes on the offensive

Apple will unveil its new PowerBook 3400, a revamped line of desktop Power Macs and a couple of other goodies on Monday (see a Reuter report for some details). A MacWEEK article reports that Apple intends to match this with a more aggressive "get tough" marketing campaign.

Update: MacWEEK has a set of reviews on the new desktop Power Macs, PowerBook 3400 series, and the low end Power Mac 4400. The PowerBook 1400 also gets a "face lift" to 133MHz. I had already just about decided that a 3400 was in my future. The review makes … Read more

Yesterday's Updates

Yesterday was not a great day for confirmation of reports. Several of the items (notably the ones on Word 6.0.1, WorldNet software, and ATM/MouseKey) had to be at least partially retracted by the end of the day. See the Updates to yesterday's items for details. I apologize for any misinformation that may have been spread.

MacOS Rumors web site

Ethan C. Allen informs me that his MacOS Rumors Web site now has its own domain name: http://www.macosrumors.com/. Message boards have been added to the site. And there is a peek at Mac OS 7.7.

Jeremy's CSMs updated

Version 1.6.3 of the excellent Jeremy's CSMs (Control Strip Modules) is now available. Among other fixes, Open Transport compatibility was added to the AppleTalk module. Also, the CPU Speed CSM, Sleep CSM and EnergyStrip CSM are now compatible with PCI-based desktop Macs.

PC Compatibility card problems; Explorer memory errors

Noted on MacInTouch in the last day or so are two items of troubleshooting interest:

a. System errors may result from a conflict between PC Compatibility cards and Open Transport in Mac OS 7.6 (and probably System 7.5.5 as well). "If the PC Compatible system halts on startup, it may be possible to continue via a Go command in the Mac's ROM-based debugger."

b. There are Java-related memory errors with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 (perhaps specific to MacTCP). Ric reports that an MIE update is expected in the next few weeks.