TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Jan 86 Mousehole
Volume Number:2
Issue Number:1
Column Tag:Mousehole Report

Mousehole Report

By Rusty Hodge, Mousehole BBS

Happy New Year!

This should be an exciting year for MacProducts. The MacPlus should be available any day now with 1-meg of RAM, 800k drives and a SCSI (say: Scuzzy) interface on the back. MacWorkStation is on its way and hopefully "Jonathan" will be announced. (Jonathan is supposedly a 3-piece Mac, with seperate Keyboard, CPU and Monitor. Rumor has it that there will be an optional 17-inch monitor for it!) [Rusty, I heard the Jonathan won't appear till 1987. And the MacPlus upgrade requires a new case back because the serial ports have been changed to round type connectors to make room for the SCSI interface, a logic board swap because of the new arrangement of daughter boards for up to 4 meg, new ROMS and maybe 800K drives? Could be expensive! -Ed.]

If you are interested in getting on MouseHole, please send a SASE to us (see address on column masthead). There is usually a 30 day backlog of getting new people on the system so be patient.

Don't have a modem but have some great information? Send us a post card telling us about it. If we print it you'll get a free MouseHole T-shirt!

Finder 5.0-HFS

The Bitman

The new finder is very nice, some hidden functions are even included.. Using the new 5.0 version, with the New system, that contain's HFS 1.0, or the HARDDRIVE 20 driver, you should be able to use the heirarcheal structure on your harddrive and your floppy without the new roms, the new roms will just make your floppies bootable. With the new finder, select erase disk, hold down your option key, and click initalize, keep the option key held down until the disk is complete, now that floppy has HFS installed, you can verify this by noticing in the upper left, below the close box, a black dot to the very left.. The disk will not boot, but it will contain the HFS structure on it, also, there is a way to make an existing disk contain HFS, but I forgot how... something again to do with option key. Developer should be able to get the new roms, can't really say anything now.

Initializing a Floppy for HFS

DON L

To init a floppy you need the file HARD DISK 20 on your boot disk. You'll get a message something like HARD DISK STARTUP below the WELCOME TO MACINTOSH message if you do. Then keep the option key down until initialization is complete. Now is there really a way to convert a MFS disk to an HFS disk without reformatting? It would sure make life easier if there is.

Ant Killer

Hi there, well here's something I didn't know till last night. The new System/Finder, 5.0, (at least the copy I got) won't initialize a disk unless you've got a 512k! I tried with my 128k with the option key & without it, but it just wouldn't work, I'd always get a initialization failed(or something like that) and it would spit the disk out.

Mike Steiner

When you open a locked document from the HFS desktop, it tells you that the document is locked and you won't be able to save any changes. If the document is a BASIC program, (MS BASIC) you will be able to save, regardless of the message. When using the files$ (1) function with HFS, the string returned is the name of the disk and file. All intermediate folders are not identified. That means that if the file is in a folder, you will not be able to identify it because the filename returned by files$(1) is diskname:filename and BASIC will not find the file. Likewise, when saving a file using file$(0) to specify the filename, it will be saved in the disk window regardless of the folders you specify. Also, when opening a file whose name is written into the program, such as OPEN FILENAME$ FOR INPUT AS #1 if the file is not in the same heirarchy as BASIC (not the BASIC program), BASIC will not find it.

Slow DA's on HD-20

Jim Reekes

Has anyone else notice how slow the DA's run on the Apple HD20? Open the Scrapbook, then click on the gray area of the scroll bar. Wait... Wait.... and then wait for it to respond and update the window. This is also the case with the Note Pad, and any other DA. On the Note Pad, open note page #1, then click on the folded corner, wait....wait....and then wait Finally it'll page and update that window. This is on a HD20 with about 3megs of software and about ten DA's installed. And what's this problem about protected software using the attribute file bits? I hear that HFS uses them for different reasons now. This makes software protection schemes using this, un-usable on the HD20! Another problem I've found with file utilities on the HD20. Don't use 'em. Most of them don't recognize the HD20 formate anyway. But if it does, don't trust it. MacZap just "ZAPed" the HD20 into bit-heaven. It then became unusable! Thanks to a "hidden" utility found in the HD20 test program. Open the tester, type "cntrl-D". WOW!!! Now set the "distructive test" button to on. Proceed to test the drive. Sometimes you'll have to switch the drive and the Mac on and off again, but this recovered the HD20 to an "unreadable" state so that I could at least formate it and start over. Whew...

KATZ

I just recieved my HD 20 today and I am finding a lot of software that needs to be changed to work correctly. Another problem if you are not using the HD 20 , Finder 4.1 will not recognize the external drive. And Apple recommends not using Finder 5.0 on floppies so whats the solution? Also none of the disk copy utilities will work correctly from HD 20.

Hacking into the HD-20

JIM REEKES

Just got a few new "hacking" tools for the HD20. FEdit 3.21 (can view the HD20); F/DA Mover 2.5 Backup DA (a DA that will backup the HD20?); HD Diag (diagnostic program used in dev. by Nisha and Rodime, this puppie can read/write any bit on the HD20. A note about the HD Diag says "Do not use Init Mac Dir or the Init Spare Table unless you've had a personal discussion with R. Mohme). Also, what's the story behind RENE'? That's the name of the device driver for the HD20. I heard something about this girl who liked to party with software engineers. Can anyone fill us in on this?

Monster Mac & HD 20

MACOWACO

Yes, Levco Monsters DO work with Apples HD20. It seems the earlier versions of the software had problems. The released stuff works fine. Levco tells me their hard disk product IS ready to go. They are only awaiting licensing of the software from Apple. Apple won't release the software till after their product hits the streets. They tell me that their disk interface will be the fastest route, but the user only notices the speed if there is constant access to the disk. Don't forget you got to have a monster to use their interface. With all the RAM the disk rarely spins for resources. Why buy their product? I asked. They say it will be much cheaper to go with it and the low cost PC hard disks out there than with Apple's. I also hear rumors about an internal 20 meg HD from Levco.

Hyper Surprize

RUSTY HODGE

General Computer is planning on introducing something "really fantastic" at the San Fransisco Mac Expo. This might be the rumored clip-on RAM upgrade.

Multi-mac

THE ATOM

Been playing around with this progam a while and discovered a few more nice features.... Lazy menus-> sets it up like GEM/Amiga. The menu pops up when the mouse is in the menu bar, then you point to the menu item and click to select it. Downloaded a few things from the Mousehole Download, and with Versaterm, Macpaint, and Finder installed, I could start a download, go to the finder, and see the file appear on the desktop and watch the free space(at the top of the window) go down as the file was downloaded. NICE! Also booted up Paint while it was downloading a file in the background and tried to draw some stuff. Slowed paint down quite a bit, but of course I had Versaterm set at 100% priority Good program.

(MultiMac will not work on the Tecmar MacDrive or the Apple HD-20, Hyperdrive and possibly all the other hard disks...)

800K DRIVES

MACGEORGE

Got my hands on a Taiwan Mac 800K drive over the weekend. Boots to a 800k formatted floppy in the external. Reads 400k Mac disks CopyII Mac functioned on Pinball, MacPaint took 9 alligators as to 15 on the Apple 3.5". System software was standard 4.1 updates. List price is suppose to be $399 ( Apple's is gonna be $695 ) I couldn't find a manufacturer name on the disk assembly, but all the IC's were Toshiba. This was the first shipment, so I had to return the drive today, but using an 800k drive was nice. Any Mac built after March '85 should be compatable with it ( that's when they changed the ROM's ). MacG.

(It is also possible to hook up a Unidisk 3.5 to a Mac with Rev. B. ROMS, all you need is a standard Mac drive cable and attach it to the drive in the Unidisk, bypassing the Unidisk controller board inside the Unidisk case. Apple has been shipping Unidisk 3.5 "service" drives on Mac internal drive mounting brackets since November! - Rusty)

Developer's Converence

Micro Ghoul

How many of you are planning on going to the Jan. 14-15th developer's conference up at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco? Maybe we can set something up. [Why don't they tell us about these things? I'm a developer and heard nothing about it! -Ed.]

Multi-Tasking Not For Mac

Bob Denny

The Mac as it is now will never be acceptable as a multi-tasker for lots of reasons. Strong statement? When I see a banker or documentation person at an aerospace outfit using a Mac and trusting it while multi-tasking, I'll eat my ... (use your imagination). Far more crude machines than the Mac are being used by just such folks in just that way, why not Mac? The reason is ... memory management ... experienced programmers (not wearing suits and ties!) ... sigh!

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Six fantastic ways to spend National Vid...
As if anyone needed an excuse to play games today, I am about to give you one: it is National Video Games Day. A day for us to play games, like we no doubt do every day. Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, feast your eyes on this... | Read more »
Old School RuneScape players turn out in...
The sheer leap in technological advancements in our lifetime has been mind-blowing. We went from Commodore 64s to VR glasses in what feels like a heartbeat, but more importantly, the internet. It can be a dark mess, but it also brought hundreds of... | Read more »
Today's Best Mobile Game Discounts...
Every day, we pick out a curated list of the best mobile discounts on the App Store and post them here. This list won't be comprehensive, but it every game on it is recommended. Feel free to check out the coverage we did on them in the links below... | Read more »
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's...
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Nintendo has been locked in an epic battle with Pocketpair, creator of the obvious Pokémon rip-off Palworld. Nintendo often resorts to legal retaliation at the drop of a hat, but it seems this... | Read more »
Apple exclusive mobile games don’t make...
If you are a gamer on phones, no doubt you have been as distressed as I am on one huge sticking point: exclusivity. For years, Xbox and PlayStation have done battle, and before this was the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo NES. On console, it makes... | Read more »
Regionally exclusive events make no sens...
Last week, over on our sister site AppSpy, I babbled excitedly about the Pokémon GO Safari Days event. You can get nine Eevees with an explorer hat per day. Or, can you? Specifically, you, reader. Do you have the time or funds to possibly fly for... | Read more »
As Jon Bellamy defends his choice to can...
Back in March, Jagex announced the appointment of a new CEO, Jon Bellamy. Mr Bellamy then decided to almost immediately paint a huge target on his back by cancelling the Runescapes Pride event. This led to widespread condemnation about his perceived... | Read more »
Marvel Contest of Champions adds two mor...
When I saw the latest two Marvel Contest of Champions characters, I scoffed. Mr Knight and Silver Samurai, thought I, they are running out of good choices. Then I realised no, I was being far too cynical. This is one of the things that games do best... | Read more »
Grass is green, and water is wet: Pokémo...
It must be a day that ends in Y, because Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has kicked off its Zoroark Drop Event. Here you can get a promo version of another card, and look forward to the next Wonder Pick Event and the next Mass Outbreak that will be... | Read more »
Enter the Gungeon review
It took me a minute to get around to reviewing this game for a couple of very good reasons. The first is that Enter the Gungeon's style of roguelike bullet-hell action is teetering on the edge of being straight-up malicious, which made getting... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Take $150 off every Apple 11-inch M3 iPad Air
Amazon is offering a $150 discount on 11-inch M3 WiFi iPad Airs right now. Shipping is free: – 11″ 128GB M3 WiFi iPad Air: $449, $150 off – 11″ 256GB M3 WiFi iPad Air: $549, $150 off – 11″ 512GB M3... Read more
Apple iPad minis back on sale for $100 off MS...
Amazon is offering $100 discounts (up to 20% off) on Apple’s newest 2024 WiFi iPad minis, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis among the Apple retailers we... Read more
Apple’s 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros are on sa...
Amazon has 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $410 off Apple’s MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party... Read more
Red Pocket Mobile is offering a $150 rebate o...
Red Pocket Mobile has new Apple iPhone 17’s on sale for $150 off MSRP when you switch and open up a new line of service. Red Pocket Mobile is a nationwide MVNO using all the major wireless carrier... Read more
Switch to Verizon, and get any iPhone 16 for...
With yesterday’s introduction of the new iPhone 17 models, Verizon responded by running “on us” promos across much of the iPhone 16 lineup: iPhone 16 and 16 Plus show as $0/mo for 36 months with bill... Read more
Here is a summary of the new features in Appl...
Apple’s September 2025 event introduced major updates across its most popular product lines, focusing on health, performance, and design breakthroughs. The AirPods Pro 3 now feature best-in-class... Read more
Apple’s Smartphone Lineup Could Use A Touch o...
COMMENTARY – Whatever happened to the old adage, “less is more”? Apple’s smartphone lineup. — which is due for its annual refresh either this month or next (possibly at an Apple Event on September 9... Read more
Take $50 off every 11th-generation A16 WiFi i...
Amazon has Apple’s 11th-generation A16 WiFi iPads in stock on sale for $50 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free: – 11″ 11th-generation 128GB WiFi iPads: $299 $50 off MSRP – 11″ 11th-generation 256GB... Read more
Sunday Sale: 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros for up t...
Don’t pay full price! Amazon has Apple’s 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $220 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather... Read more
Mac mini with M4 Pro CPU back on sale for $12...
B&H Photo has Apple’s Mac mini with the M4 Pro CPU back on sale for $1259, $140 off MSRP. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – Mac mini M4 Pro CPU (24GB/512GB): $1259, $... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.